Locked Up
by xXLiveLoveLaughXx
Summary: Troy is in prison, framed for a crime he didn't commit. Gabriella visits him and they begin to fall for each other. But being in prison is jeapordising their chances of being together. First fic so be nice and review! TROYELLA Rubbish summary... sorry!
1. Trailer

**Locked Up ****–**** Trailer**

My first story so be nice :-)

Let me know if you think I should carry on. I'll only carry on if I get 15 or more reviews.

I don't know if I should make this a short story or not as it is my first.

xXLiveLoveLaughXx

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**It was just another day for her**

_Show Gabriella watching her mother talk to her __f__r__iend__ in jail in a small visiting booth._

"She does this every week" Gabriella thought, "I get dragged here for 'moral support' then I'm ignored for an hour."

**It was just another day for him**

_Shows a young man in prison uniform behind the glass with his head in his hands._

Gabriella watched with curiosity as the boy never looked up. She scanned the room. Every booth had a visitor except his.

**Who knew two people could find love in the most unlikely of places?**

She nervously picked up the phone and tapped on the glass to get his attention. His head darted up and their eyes connected as he reached for the phone.

"Where's your visitor?"

"I don't have one, I never have."

**Two people who grow to care for one another**

_We see Gabriella and Troy curled up in a booth late at night talking to one another through the glass._

**A story about trust**

"I'm innocent," he looked at her with pleading eyes.

"I know"

**A story about lies**

**"**HE WAS FRAMED, GODAMMIT!" Gabriella screamed, throwing a chair across the room, "HE'S INNOCENT AND YET HE'S THE ONE ROTTING AWAY IN PRISON!"

**A story about risk**

"Miss Montez, we have been informed you have been communicating with a prisoner illegally, at night might I add."

**A story about justice**

"Please Troy, if you plead guilty you'll get a shorter sentence then we can be together!"

"But I'm innocent! I can't let them break me!"

**Two people**

_Shows Gabriella walking out of the prison at night in the rain._

_We then see Troy sitting alone in an empty cell._

**Two hearts**

"You're wasting your life on a man who you barely know! What if he doesn't confess? What will you do then Gabi?"

"I'll wait"

**One love**

"We've been found out Troy, I can't visit you anymore." Gabriella's voice broke as a tear rolled down her cheek.

"How will you know when I can leave? How will you know where to meet me? You said you'd be there when I was released! You promised, Gabi. YOU PROMISED!"

**One story**

"Mr Bolton, you're free to go"

_We see Troy standing alone in the rain._

"I promised."

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So what do you think? Let me know and if I get 15 or more reviews then I'll consider carrying on. Thanks for reading! Please review.


	2. Chapter 1

Okay so I know I said I was going to wait until I got 15 reviews but I guess that was a bit ambitious! So I'm just going to continue this story and see how things go, but no guarantees on how far I'll take it!!! Thankyou to everyone who has patiently waited!

Disclaimer: I quite obviously don't own HSM!! Or the author Dan Brown (first few sentences)

AN: A lot of this story is based it a prison visiting room. To understand what the room looks like, there is a link in my profile. Except imagine there being 15 booths instead of just 2 like in the picture.

**Locked Up – Chapter 1**

"Gabi! Please will you hurry up! Harry will be waiting, now I finally get the chance to see him and I have to wait for you to put down that silly book!" Maria Montez shouted up the stairs.

"First of all this book is not stupid! It just so _happens_ to be a limited edition Dan Brown!" Gabriella retaliated, "and I don't see why you even want to see that guy! I know you were friends once but surely you don't have to see him!"

A tear came to Maria's eye before she replied, "Gabi, if you knew what happened then you'd know that I have to see Harry. I have to see him today, just like I had to see him last week and every other week before that."

Gabriella rolled her eyes and slid off her bed, agitated that her mother wouldn't tell her who this mystery guy was or why he was in prison. All she knew was his name and how apparently her mother seemed to have a big history with him. "Whatever, I just don't see what the fuss is all about if you're not even that close." She muttered below her breath.

A few moments later, Gabriella slowly made her way downstairs only to see an impatient Mrs. Montez standing by the door. Maria raised her eyebrow, making Gabriella pick up the speed and follow her out the door, "Ok Mom, I'm coming already!"

* * *

Gabriella normally wouldn't have minded helping her mother, apart from the fact that she had to give a lifts everywhere because she didn't have her license. The fact it was also a prison didn't exactly make the situation any better. She parked the car in their 'usual space' and watched as her mother leaped out the car and hurried to the prison doors. "Whatever happened must've been big," Gabriella thought, "I want to find out what went on but whenever I bring it up, she just changes the subject."

She was shaken out of her thoughts when she looked up to see her mother had left her on her own. "MOM! WAIT UP!" She exclaimed. Finally catching up with Maria, Gabriella had had enough "What's the rush?! It's a prison, it's not like he's going anywhere anytime soon!"She argued.

Maria turned to her daughter to retaliate, she had a glazed look to her eyes, not of anger, but of a longing to reveal her past to her only daughter. She opened her mouth, but turned to walk through to the main entrance. Gabriella followed, still shocked by her outburst and guilty. "Maria Montez." Her mother said quietly, "here for Harry West. I have my daughter with me"

"Name and Age" the guard said. He looked like years of reception work had taken a toll on him.

"Gabriella Montez, 17 years."Gabriella watched as her mother signed them both in then followed another guard through to the visitor's room. Gabriella watched as her mother scurried to the same booth as she went to every week. Before long her mother was engrossed in conversation over the phone with a man who had the name tag "West" clearly marked on his uniform, whilst Gabriella was left standing awkwardly at one end of the room watching everyone. "She does this every week" Gabriella thought, "I get dragged here for 'moral support' then I'm ignored for an hour."

She carried on observing the occupied booths until her eyes fell on one booth in particular. That particular booth was empty every week, but she never really paid any attention to it, she just presumed there wasn't a prisoner to be visited. But when she looked closer, Gabriella could see a figure there. It looked like a young man, she couldn't tell because he has his head in his hands. Gabriella watched with curiosity as the boy never looked up. She scanned the room. Every booth had a visitor except his. "I guess it wouldn't hurt to see who he is," Gabriella considered introducing herself, "it's not as if I'll be going anywhere in a hurry."

She made her way down the corridor passing all the visitors, and sighed when her mother didn't even notice her daughter moving. The booth was at the very end of the room, with only one neighbour, both parties of which were deeply in conversation.

When Gabriella stopped in front of the empty booth, she could feel her heart beating heavily and the prisoner occupying it had still not noticed her standing there.

She nervously picked up the phone and tapped on the glass to get his attention. His head darted up and their eyes connected as he cautiously reached for the phone.

"Where's your visitor?" Gabriella asked, sympathy and nerves showing in her voice.

"I don't have one, I never have."The young man replied. Gabriella's heart skipped a beat when she heard his voice and became lost in his ocean blue eyes.

"Were you gonna talk to me or just stand there staring," he said, still shocked that a beautiful girl like her would even waste her time talking to a guy like him.

Gabriella blushed and slowly sat down not taking her eyes of the man, "I'm Gabriella." She said. She was feeling less nervous but she became anxious as she didn't hear a reply. The boy seemed lost in his own world, staring at her, until he realised the long silence she was waiting for him to fill. "Erm... My name...My name's Troy. Yes, Troy. That's my name." He stuttered.

"_Damn it Troy! Now she'll think you're even more of a lost cause!" _he thought to himself.

Gabriella giggled, and Troy smiled the first real smile in what felt like months. Conversation flowed slowly but surely and before long, Gabriella herself was engrossed. Troy liked her, he liked talking to her. It was nice to talk to someone who actually wanted to visit him. She hadn't even bothered to ask why he was in prison. That alone made Troy feel like he was actually worth something. Time flew by and it wasn't long before Gabriella felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned to see her mother looking at her, shocked at her daughter but blatantly happier to have seen 'her' prisoner. "It's time to go now," Maria's voice came across with confusion as she wondered what her daughter was doing.

"Go to the car," Gabriella instructed, handing her mother the car keys, "I'll be out in a moment."

Maria took the keys and left the room in a daze, looking back at her daughter once before walking out the door.

"I've gotta go Troy, but it was nice talking to you." Gabriella's face showed regret.

"Will you be coming back next week, it's not as if I'll have another visitor and I want to talk to you again," Gabriella's heart began thumping as she saw the hope and pain in his eyes.

She liked the fact that he seemed to genuinely like her. She didn't hesitate to nod vigorously before breathlessly answering, "Goodbye Troy."

"Goodbye." He answered, relieved that she had not rejected him.

Gabriella got up and slowly walked out of the room before looking back to see him watching her leave over the booths. Their eyes met once more before their gaze was broken and Troy was left standing alone in the room, a guard coughing to get his attention.

"Gabriella," he said once more as to reassure himself that she was real, "Goodbye, Gabriella"

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Well I actually really enjoyed writing that, I hope you all enjoy reading it! As I said this is my first fanfic, so be nice and please review!! 


	3. Chapter 2

Okay well I decided that I might as well continue this story while I can, as I've pointed out in the first 2 chapters, this is my first fanfic so any pointers or helpful hints would be much appreciated!

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**Locked Up – Chapter 2**

Gabriella sat at her desk in Chemistry, tapping her pen whilst staring blankly at the clock. "_One more day"_ she thought.

It had been almost a week since she met Troy in the prison visiting room and to her mother's surprise, Gabriella actually offered to take her to the prison to visit Harry this week. Normally this decision would only have been made if it followed a lengthy persuading, but something about Gabriella was different now.

Maria hadn't been the only person to notice a change it the brunette beauty. Gabriella's best friend Taylor had also noticed a difference in her friend's character. Taylor couldn't concentrate in Chemistry either, not because she was anxiously awaiting a visit to a prison, but more because she was trying to figure out what was going on. The final bell shook both the academically-minded girls from their thoughts. Taylor rushed out of the classroom in hope that she could catch Gabriella before she wondered home in a daze as she had for the past few days.

"Gabriella! Hey," Taylor said rushing to keep up with Gabriella, "Listen we're best friends right?"

"Huh? Sorry what did you say, I completely zoned out," Gabriella replied guiltily. She didn't understand why she couldn't stop thinking about _him_.

"Look, well, you know you can tell me anything right?"

"Taylor I think you already know the answer to that question, you're like my sister!" Her friend's sudden concern had brought back Gabriella's concentration.

"I guess." Taylor wondered whether or not she should continue. "It's just you seem, well, a little pre-occupied lately and I'm just worried about you. You barely even listened in class today!"

"Sometimes us elevated-IQ girls need a chance to blank out in class once in a while Taylor!"

"Well, I don't mean just blanking out, you seem so 'out of it' recently. You're fine at lunch when we're all talking but the moment you don't need to make conversation, you get that look in your eyes."

"What look?! There's no look! It's just me... looking. Like I normally look! With my eyes!" Gabriella became panicked and Taylor became suspicious.

"It's to do with that prison isn't it? Ever since you started taking you're mom there you've changed. But this week more than ever! You got a C in Math Gabi."

"So, it's not that bad..." Gabriella couldn't help but feel slightly anxious.

"A C GABRIELLA! YOU NEVER GET C'S. IT'S LIKE AN UNSPOKEN RULE!" people were beginning to watch Taylor's hissy fit with interest.

"Maybe I'm just not that fussed anymore!" This made Taylor stop in her tracks. She grabbed Gabriella's arm and pulled her to the 'East High Wall of Achievement'.

"Look at this Gabi! Look at every academic achiever here, excluding lunkhead basketball guys!" Gabriella giggled but saw what her friend was trying to say. Every picture for academic achievement had Gabriella on it whether on her own or as part of a group. "You've always been fussed about school Gabi," Taylor continued "Last time you got just an A instead of an A+ you cried."

"I wasn't that bad!" Gabriella argued.

Taylor raised one eyebrow, "You claimed you're life was over and that you were going die old and alone because no one would want a 'failure' for a girlfriend." Taylor's tone changed to one of sympathy. "I've known you for years now Gabi, you only get the grades you've got whilst not caring because something big has happened."

Gabriella didn't think that meeting Troy was a 'big' thing, but for some reason it had affected her more than she first thought. She didn't want Taylor to think anything major was going on so she decided to set the record straight. Pulling her friend back into the corridor which was now empty, she began to talk.

"It's nothing big, it's just that I went to the prison with my mom again and something happened," Gabriella paused as if thinking of how to put it without sounding too bad. "I met a guy, he's amazing, his name's Troy and that's why I haven't quite been 'with it' lately." She said quickly hoping that Taylor wouldn't catch on to the fact that Troy was a prisoner.

Taylor seemed to consider the possibilities whilst they walked, but ruled it out. "_Gabi wouldn't like a prisoner. No Way!"_ She thought before noticed her friend's anxious wait for a response. "Well at least he's not _in_ the prison! You know how completely wrong that would be. You could do so much better than a criminal! I'm happy for you Gabs! I always thought you'd like a guy in uniform!" Gabriella winced at her friend's choice of words. "Is he cute? Does he have to body search everyone as you go in to visit?"

"Erm... not particularly." Gabriella was finding it difficult to tell Taylor that her 'new guy' wore a different kind of uniform to the one she was thinking. "He's more... _involved_ with the prison itself."

"So how did you meet him then?" Taylor became increasingly suspicious.

"Well he didn't have a visitor so..."

Taylor suddenly started laughing, "No...no. That wouldn't happen because if you _visited _him then that would mean..." She paused to give Gabriella a chance to correct her 'mistake'. As Gabriella walked she hated the silence that filled the air. She couldn't bear to look Taylor in the eye, so she just nodded nervously.

She was suddenly forced to look at her best friend when she heard a soft thud from behind her. She turned to see Taylor lying on the floor. "Taylor?"

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So this chapter was more of a filler until the next one, I didn't want to really start the main storyline yet so thankyou for reading! Please review! 


	4. Chapter 3

First of all thanks for the reviews! I don't know whether 28 is good or not but I'm definitely happy!

As I said before the last chapter was just a filler until this one but I'm going to try and make this one a bit longer. Enjoy!

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**Locked Up – Chapter 3**

Troy sat in his cell doing the same thing he had done nearly everyday for the past week, think about _her_. He didn't know how this girl had made him feel this way, but it wasn't doing him any favours. Troy had only just turned 18 when he was sent to jail, he was too old for a detention centre, so the only option was prison. He knew the only way to survive was to toughen up, but it was difficult to do that when nearly every free moment was spent day dreaming about some girl.

But she wasn't just 'some girl'. Not to him. The moment their eyes met he felt something. Happiness, fear, courage and weakness all at once. He felt bad enough that he'd been rude to her when she came to talk to him, but she seemed to forget about it the moment they spoke.

That was what he liked. That was what he needed. Someone who forgave him when he messed up. Someone who didn't mind that he wasn't perfect. But that was the problem, she didn't know the truth. He wanted so desperately to tell her the truth, but he didn't want her to get hurt, to get caught up in the mess that he was in.

"_That Harry guy isn't exactly helping," _Troy thought to himself,_ "I don't know who he is or why Gabriella's mom visits him, but I need to find out."_

Troy went to sleep that night thinking the same thing he had every other night: Gabriella, and whether or not to tell her what was really going on.

* * *

The warm evening air was crisp and refreshing, just the way Gabriella liked it. She stood out on her balcony breathing in the cool Albuquerque air and thinking about Troy. She still felt bad about Taylor too. She knew Taylor wouldn't have been pleased that she'd found a potential guy in a prison, but Gabriella had no idea that Taylor would actually pass out from the shock.

The thought of seeing Taylor lying on the floor before coming round made Gabriella laugh to herself...

"_Taylor?" _

_Gabriella rushed to her best friend's side, kneeling down on the floor looking at an unconscious Taylor, she had no idea what to do. Looking around the empty corridor she knew that help wouldn't be on its way anytime soon. Gabriella knew Taylor would be ok and that it was only the shock from the news that made her pass out. Taking advantage of the opportunity in which Taylor wouldn't be able to argue back, Gabriella closed her eyes and began to talk._

"_I know you're disappointed Taylor, but you have to understand how much Troy means to me. I know that we only spoke for 2 hours and he already has me messed up but, I don't know, I guess he makes me feel happy. You're like my sister Taylor and I'd do anything to make you happy, I'd even forget about Troy." _

_Even thinking about leaving Troy made her breath hitch in her throat. As a tear rolled down her cheek, Gabriella knew that Taylor's acceptance mattered to her more than anything. "Please just be happy that I've found someone, regardless of how I met them." _

_She closed her eyes and sobbed silently, knowing she'd never have had the courage to say that to a conscious Taylor. Her feet were going numb from sitting on them and thoughts about Taylor hating her flew around in her head._

"_He better be cute if he's worth your tears Gabi."_

_Gabriella's head shot up to see her best friend sat up, grinning at her. She couldn't help but fling herself at Taylor engulfing her in a hug, content with knowing that she had accepted her decision._

Gabriella smiled again to herself and wrapped her arms around her shivering form. It was Thursday, and that meant two more days until next Saturday, when she could see Troy again. When she got back from the visit the previous week, Gabriella had attempted to find out about Harry West, but her mother seemed completely oblivious to her hints for more information.

She turned quickly when she heard her door open, but let out a sigh of relief when she saw that it was just her mother. "Don't be too long Gabi ok? You still ok for taking me to see Harry on Saturday?" Maria asked.

"Yeah, I said it would be fine." Gabriella tried to sound just a tiny bit annoyed at taking her to prison but she failed miserably. "I'll take you to see your precious Harry, _yet again._"

"Think of it this way Gabi, It's Friday tomorrow so it's only one more day until you can see him again." Maria said with a smirk.

"You're the one visiting Harry, not me?!" Gabriella argued.

"Who said anything about Harry?"

With that, Maria disappeared behind the door leaving Gabriella standing on her balcony with her mouth open, shocked that for once, her mother had won the argument.

* * *

Troy stood in the queue in the canteen holding his tray whilst looking around in a daze. There were guards placed around the room with guns visible as a warning. Behind him was a guy with what appeared to be a self portrait tattooed to his arm with the name 'Crusher' emblazoned underneath. He also had various impressive scars dotted over his body. At seeing the scars and nickname Troy had quickly turned around to observe the prisoner before him. He also had been 'scribbled on' as Troy's mom had liked to call it and didn't look to happy when he noticed Troy staring. If looks could kill, Troy would've been long gone.

After receiving his daily dose of prison 'mystery meat' Troy took his usual table in the corner of the canteen. He laughed to himself at the irony of his situation. When he went to West High, everyone knew him and he liked it that way. In the cafeteria Troy took centre stage whilst the 'rejects' would be pushed to the table near the rubbish bins. As he swatted a fly away from his 'meal' Troy realised how the hunter had become the hunted. He wasn't a bully in West High, but some of his friends were and now he realised that very few people liked the group who took the best table and bossed everyone around, they feared them.

Troy was brought back to reality when he saw a tray slide onto the table next to him, he looked up in to see that the person had already occupied the seat and was now staring at his bulging bicep, which had a familiar face and name etched onto it. Troy gulped as he looked up into the eyes of 'Crusher'. "Hey, I saw that you were on your own so I thought you might one someone with ya."

Troy was shocked and tried his hardest not to laugh at the guy. For some reason, he sounded like he was on helium and seemed to be really friendly. Not the murderous beast he predicted. "I know. Squeaky voice. Put it this way, don't bite off more than you can chew, especially with rival gangs. Turns out they know how to get you where you're weakest." Troy's reply was a look of confusion, "They took pretty much all I had," Troy still hadn't caught on, "We're both guys right?" Troy nodded, now seriously confused, "You've got meat and two veg, I've just got the meat." Troy finally understood then winced at the thought of it.

(AN: I'm from England so I don't know if that expression would make sense to other people, but I'm sure you can use your common sense. Hehe.)

"So you're not gonna kill me?" Troy asked still unsure of whether or not this guy was genuine.

"And how stupid would I have to be to kill you in a prison?"

Troy laughed along and began to trust him. "I can tell you're new to this, ain't ya kid?"

"Yeah, it's like my old high school only much worse!"

"It's not that bad just as long as you keep your head down and do your time. I'll stick with ya though. Little thing like you could get your ass kicked any moment now if you don't get protection."

"You're gonna stick with me?"

"Yeah sure, why not? The other guys just blank me out anyway so it's not as if I'll be sacrificing any social scene. But that's the way things work round here, you need protection. Most guys pay with cigarettes or anything else they can smuggle in, but I figured you're not the kind to be doing that sorta thing, so I'll do it out of the goodness of my heart." He raised his hand to his chest dramatically.

"You're definitely not the person I thought you'd be, erm, Crusher?"

"Don't judge a book by its cover Troy, it is Troy isn't it? I used to be called Crusher, cos I was into that sorta thing, but the fight that got me here was actually me trying to get out of my gang. I'm just plain Joe now."

"What happened at this fight?"

"It was just me and the leader, he'd basically been indentified for murder, so he was already wanted. I told him I wanted to leave so he shouted "Help, he's gonna kill me!" then shot himself. Course when the police came it looked like I'd killed him, and people heard him shouting."

"I'm sorry Joe, you really shouldn't be here should you?"

"Technically no, but it's not that bad. I had no life out there, so I come here, I get 3 meals a day and a bed at night. It's all good!"

Troy wished he had just a shred of Joe's optimism but he knew it wouldn't be coming anytime soon. As a fight broke out on the opposite side of the canteen, no one looked bothered. Joe carried on eating and the prisoners around him almost looked bored by the spectacle. It was then he realised that it was a regular occurrence and he'd have to get used to prison life, whether he liked it or not.

* * *

It was Saturday and Gabriella couldn't have been more excited. She bounded down the stairs and into the kitchen where her mother was drinking coffee and reading a magazine, rollers in her hair and a towel around her neck. "Mom, why aren't you ready? We're meant to be leaving in quarter of an hour?!" Gabriella felt an unusual feeling of panic rise in her.

"Your car was leaking petrol so I rung up the garage and got them to come and pick it up. I didn't think a petrol leak was that bad but it turns out that you had some major engine problem."

Gabriella rushed to the window and her heart sank as she saw that her blue '67 Mustang had disappeared, leaving only a puddle on the drive as a hint to its previous existence. Her mother's voice made her jump, "Gabi, if you want to see him so bad then just take the next bus then walk the rest of the way. It shouldn't take longer than half an hour."

Gabriella's face broke out into a smile as she ran out of the room, before returning and opening her mouth to talk to her mother. But Maria beat her to it, "The moneys on the counter." Maria smiled to herself as she watched her daughter run out of the house.

* * *

When Gabriella got to the prison she signed herself in and hurried to the visiting room, she could see Troy's figure at the end of the row and started jogging to her seat. Along the journey she heard a bang on the glass which made her stop. She turned to see Harry motioning for her to pick up the phone. Anxious to see Troy, she picked up the phone impatiently. "Where's your mother?" Harry asked rudely, "She said she was coming!"

"Yeah, well she's not," Gabriella never liked Harry but him talking to her that way was the tip of the iceberg. "Our car broke down so she sent it to the garage."

"What!" Harry shouted then lowered his voice when the guards seemed to notice his outburst. "You mean you left her," Harry's whispering became urgent and Gabriella's attention was brought from Troy to the urgency of Harry's conversation, "You left her on her own, and they've taken her only way of transport!"

"It was a petrol leak!" Gabriella didn't understand what he was talking about.

"Don't be so ignorant Gabriella, that car was new, these things don't just happen!" Harry snarled before getting up, knocking his chair over in the process and stormed out of the room, a guard following.

Gabriella didn't know what to make of his outburst, so she ignored him. _"He's just trying to scare me. He never liked me." _Gabriella reassured herself. Before she knew it she was looking into the same blue eyes that brought her here and all her fears were forgotten. "Hey," he looked just as he did a week ago, except now his greeting was more welcoming.

Picking up the phone Gabriella replied, "Hi," a light blush creeping up her cheeks. Troy smiled at her shyness. "So what was all that about?"

"Oh I don't know. Harry just being paranoid I guess." Before long the couple were completely wrapped up in each other. Both baring their souls to the other in complete trust, blissfully unaware of their surroundings and the thick bullet proof glass between them.

_Meanwhile..._

Maria Montez sat in the '67 Mustang, rollers still in her hair. The towel that was once around her neck had been tied around her hands and she had been knocked out, leaving a gash on her forehead. In the middle of what appeared to be nowhere, sat the car with Maria in it. As the blood trickled down her face, the flames which surrounded her danced on her black hair, licking at her as if slowly torturing her back into consciousness. Slipping in and out of awareness, Maria had two thoughts, Gabriella and where her only daughter was as she sat alone in the burning car. Little did she know, moments before then Harry had repeated the same words of warning as he did to her to Gabriella.

"_You've got to be careful Maria, I don't want you to be hurt!" Harry's face was etched with concern and fear._

"_Don't worry! I'll be fine. They can't do anything to me!"_

"_Please. Just be careful for my sake. No, for Gabriella's sake!"_

"_Don't bring her into this Harry. It's messed up enough as it is and I don't want to her to be hurt. You don't exactly deserve a medal when it comes to protecting Gabi! Do you realise how hard it is not to tell her what went on all those years ago?"_

"_Don't guilt me Maria, I feel bad enough about it as it is. Just watch your back ok? Check your house and your car and keep an eye on Gabi? Ok? Promise me!"_

"_Ok Ok. I promise!"_

"_Maria," Harry's voice changed to one of deep concern and regret, "These things don't just happen."_

_Maria nodded impatiently and glanced down the room at her daughter, engrossed in conversation with a complete stranger._

Sitting in the car, slowly burning away Maria began to talk to nobody in particular. "Gabriella," she was overcome by fumes, "Where are you Gabi?"

Maria began coughing violently almost slipping back into unconsciousness. "Harry was right," Maria thought, "these things don't just happen."

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Wow! I never thought I could type so much! That chapter was about 2700 words! I like the way this has turned out but I'll just have to wait for the feedback. Thanks for reading and please review!! 


	5. Chapter 4

Ok so I've struggled in bit so far with my story but I've been really busy. I have my GCSE exams so I've been sooo busy revising for my mocks before Christmas. Sorry! Anyhoo, on with the story! Enjoy!

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**Locked Up - Chapter 4**

Maria was slipping in and out of consciousness, although the flames weren't too close, Maria felt that her death was inevitable. Her mind was plagued with thoughts about Gabriella and whether or not her current situation was because of what Harry had warned her about the day before. As Maria felt the fumes winding their way through her lungs, a tear slipped down her cheek as she thought about Gabriella, left all alone. Unaware of how ironic that thought was given her own predicament.

_Meanwhile... _

Kyle Peterson was flying over the fields in his crop sprayer. He was still spraying the fertilizer everywhere. Although the farmer often advised him to spray during the day, it was too hot, and flying in direct sunlight in what was technically a tin can was an idea which for some reason had never appealed to him. He couldn't fly at night because he didn't have the right license and he was too lazy to get up in the morning, so his only option was the late afternoon. A late Saturday afternoon.

"Wo-oah! Livin' on a prayer! Take my han.." Kyle was singing along with the music playing from his portable radio when his eye was brought to what seemed to be a burning car in one of the fields that was waiting to be planted, so the flames stood out from the dust. The field was ahead so he dropped the plane down a bit lower, and as he approached he could see a figure in the car. "You've got to be kidding!" He knew he had to land and see what was going on, if the person was still alive then Kyle was their only hope.

Maria felt herself passing out again when she heard a loud noise overhead, quickly followed by a splash of liquid on her face. She contemplated whether or not the fumes had made her imagine it, until she looked around to see that the fire was dying down. Whatever the liquid was, it was strong stuff, and there was lots of it. Looking around at the dying flames, Maria caught a glimpse of yellow out of the corner of her eye, and her heart raced when she saw the plane. A man of a muscular build leapt out of the plane carrying a small red cylinder and began crazily spraying white foam over the flames. Although the liquid had reduced the flames, the fire extinguisher stood no chance against the blazing inferno of a car, so Kyle waited until he had made a big enough gap to get the person out.

Even though she could see her chances of survival increasing greatly by the second, Maria couldn't help but think about how unusual her situation had become. All she could remember was a man calling her and telling her that she was needed at the garage to pay, then upon arrival being sharply hit over the head by someone who had approached her from behind. It was then that she realised that she could feel two strong arms holding her up and she felt relieved as she could feel the air cooling rapidly around her. Maria could hear the man calling the ambulance then hanging up and brushing the hair out of her face.

"Ma'am, can you hear me? I'm Kyle and I've helped you, you're going to be alright now. Can you hear me?"

Anxiety could be heard in his voice and Maria could almost hear his hear thumping. But her intuition told her that his anxiety may not have been for her safety. "What's your name ma'am?"

Maria used her last breath to utter a name to Kyle, "Gabriella," Maria spluttered, "Montez." She managed to say before watching the world around her turn black.

* * *

"There was only a few seconds left until the end of the game, and virtually the whole of West High was watching me," Troy explained animatedly as he looked at Gabriella, who was hanging on to his every word. He became distracted by her beauty and stopped, thinking about how lucky he was to have her in his life.

"Troy! Why do you keep doing this?! What happened?" Gabriella giggled because he'd already told her about how whenever he zoned out during one of their conversations, it was because he was thinking of her.

"Oh yeah! Sorry, anyway, where was I?"

"West High, basketball game, few seconds left."

"OK right, so there was only a few seconds left and I could see my best friend Chad out of the corner of my eye telling me to shoot, so I brought the ball up and jumped just as one of the muppets from your _excuse_ of a basketball team tried to get the ball and – SWOOSH! – Troy Bolton, wins again!"

Gabriella laughed at how enthusiastic Troy was, despite the blatant rivalry between their two schools. "And let me guess, you won the competition and West High worshipped you for yet another year and you were oblivious to the fact that one of the girls in the opposite stand would visit you in prison and you would fall madly in love with her?!"

The moment the words left her mouth Gabriella gasped as her pulse quickened. "_What are you doing Gabi? He can't know you love him, you've only known him for a month!" _She thought as she watched Troy's face soften.

Troy could feel his head going light from the blood rush, panicking whilst wondering whether or not he was about to do the right thing, but he felt that it was right. He brought his fingertips forward to touch the glass, gripping the phone in one hand, not breaking his gaze with Gabriella, and for a split second he knew that she was the only one for him, "I feel the same way Gabi."

Gabriella's mouth hung open as she needed to confirm what she just heard, "What do you mean?"

"Well you said that I'd fallen madly in love with you... and... well, I guess I thought that you felt that about me so... I guess what I'm trying to say is..I... I,"

Gabriella could feel her breathing stop as she held her breath, waiting for Troy to finish, "Go on."

"I love you, Gabi." Troy knew he'd gone to far to go back now, "I know we've only known each other for a month but, I just know." Troy finished breathlessly, knowing that whatever Gabriella said would make or break his heart.

"I love you too Troy." Gabriella had the biggest smile on her face and her fingertips had aligned with Troy's without her acknowledgment.

The young couple were broken from their gaze when a guard pulled Troy out of his chair, "Time's up lover boy." When Troy struggled the guard tightened his grip and smirked. "Don't worry love," he jeered at Gabriella, "I doubt he'll be going anywhere in the next week."

Just as Gabriella went to mouth her goodbyes to Troy, she felt a tap on her shoulder, "Gabriella Montez?"

Gabriella nodded as she could see Harry talking to a policeman over the phone in his booth. "I think you should come with me."

* * *

Gabriella didn't know what to expect. It was all a blur, she could hardly remember what the man was saying back at the prison. "_Mom...Fire...Hospital...Attempted Murder...Suspicious." _were the main things that were replaying through her mind. All she knew was that she had to find her mother who was in danger, and fast. She wasn't aware of her surroundings, tears were spilling over onto her cheeks and everything was messed up. Even though she was surrounded by people, it was a long time since she had felt this lonely. She never knew her father so her mother was all she felt she really had left. She knew she had Troy too but that didn't mean that she was going to let mom her go without a fight.

After what seemed like forever the police realised that the respectful thing would be to let Gabriella see her mother. Once the last officer had left the room Gabriella ran into the room so fast that her legs almost gave way underneath her.

Bursting into the room Gabriella was shocked at the sight before her. Her mother had no facial injuries but saw that the tanned skin on her right arm had been burnt. Looking from the burns to Maria's brown eyes, Gabriella rushed to her mother and wrapped her arms around her, and started to sob into her hair. "I was so scared." Gabriella could hear Maria whisper into her shoulder.

"It's ok Mom," Gabriella shushed her, wiping away her tears, "I'm so glad you're safe. I was still with Troy after I left you and Harry warned me... and then the officer came for me."

Gabriella could feel a new set of tears threatening to flow. Looking up into her mother's brown eyes she could see that she had suffered quite an ordeal. "Gabriella, I want you to listen to me," Gabriella was shocked that her mother could make such conversation given the circumstances, but didn't want to question her so she said nothing.

"I wanted to wait until there were no police to hear this otherwise there would be problems. This whole thing involves Harry," Gabriella felt anger rise up in her and opened her mouth to argue, "NO GABRIELLA, I DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT!"

Shocked by her mother's outburst Gabriella went quiet. "I can only tell you this Gabi, Harry is involved but he is not the bad person in all of this. I want you to give Harry a chance. He's important to me and he should be important to you too! You owe him your life!"

At this Gabriella knew that Maria was being serious, but she didn't want to ask why she was indebted to Harry. She stayed silent and let her continue, making a mental note to find out what was going on.

"We're in danger, well it's more me than you. This is why I can't tell you too much too soon. If you know the full truth then you're in as much danger as me, if not more. All I can say is that we have to be really careful. Incredibly careful. To the point where you should seriously consider who you trust. That includes Troy."

Gabriella felt the tears brewing again at the mention of his name. It had only been that afternoon that they had declared their love for one another, and now she was being told he could be putting her in danger. But she knew that if her mother was at as much risk as her, she would have to make sacrifices. But Troy was one sacrifice that she wasn't expecting to have to make.

"Harry has a past, one which involves us, and certain people. These people have been trying to get to Harry, but he's in prison, so they've been going for the next best thing, which just so happens to be us."

An officer knocked on the door, "Everything ok in there? Can we come back in yet?"

"Just a minute!" Maria announced before lowering her voice to a whisper, "You'll find out what I going on in due course, but right now all I can say is to be careful. Harry says they won't try anything anytime soon."

"Who's they?"

"It doesn't matter Gabi! All that matters is that you get some people you trust to stay with you tonight. I know that you can visit Troy everyday now, so I'm guessing you'll be going back tomorrow?"

Gabriella nodded, still in shock from the severity of the situation. One which she had evidently been oblivious to before. "I want you to invite all your friends over, the more the better. I don't care how many, just make sure you have people with you. There's money in the jar on the fireplace, bribe them with some pizza or something. I'll be out by tomorrow but tonight there's no chance you'll be on your own. Lock the doors and windows and stay with your friends. Close the curtains too."

Maria could tell that her daughter was having trouble understanding everything. "I'll explain eventually. I know you're patient enough to wait. But for now I just want you to do that ok?"

Gabriella didn't know what to say. She had so many questions but she trusted her mother and knew the truth could wait. "Don't worry about the police," her mother continued, "Just say that you're very upset about what happened but you don't know what's going on. Act it up a bit, add some tears or something. I'll handle the rest."

The brunette girl nodded and stood up, kissing her mother on her forehead. "I trust you. I'm scared. But if there's one person I trust more than anyone, it's you."

As a police officer entered the room, Gabriella gripped her mother's hand before letting go and leaving the room. Once she was in the waiting room, an officer immediately approached her. Clearly oblivious to the respect that Gabriella deserved, "Miss, can I please just ask you, what do you know about the current situation involving your mother?"

Gabriella took a deep breath, she knew what she had to do. She somehow conjured up teary eyes before continuing, "Well naturally, I'm very upset about what's happened..."

* * *

Troy didn't know what had happened to Gabriella after he'd been taken away. The guard knew that Troy was innocent, Troy knew that, but in a bad attempt to cover up the fact that the guard didn't think Troy should be in prison, he pushed him around sometimes. If he was too nice to Troy then people would become suspicious.

"Sorry Troy," Max, the prison guard said, "I know that was a bit rough but you know how it is."

Troy laughed then shrugged before walking back to his cell. He returned to find Joe lying on his bed reading. Max had decided that Joe would be better in Troy's cell because they could 'balance' each other out as he put it. Secretly he just wanted Troy to get out of jail alive. "Pastimes of the hardened criminal, Exhibit A." Troy laughed as he motioned to Joe as if he was an assistant on a game show and Joe was the prize.

"I'll have you know that I am actually quite the intellect." Joe retaliated then paused, a silence which was quickly followed by loud laughter from the pair.

"Cut it out!" an inmate from another cell warned.

The laughter was somehow contained and the two innocent men started a conversation. The pair had become good friends and Joe gladly protected Troy from any possible beatings in return for Troy's company. They understood each other and Troy felt as thought he could trust Joe with his life.

Their conversation was quickly interrupted by a bell indicating that it was time for the inmates to go for dinner. Once Troy and Joe sat down at their usual table by the bins Troy knew that something wasn't right. He turned to see Harry's cruel gaze across the canteen, aimed directly at him. Harry abruptly stood up and began to make his way to their table. Troy's pulse began to race as he turned back to his meal and closed his eyes hoping that Harry would disappear. "What's wrong?" Joe queried, sensing his friends distress.

His question was answered, and Troy's eyes were opened when a fist slammed onto the table dangerously close to Troy's fork. "I know what happened to Maria."

"Yeah well I don't." Troy genuinely didn't know what was going on, all he knew was that Harry spoke to Gabriella with words of nothing but hurt.

His instant denial made Harry pull Troy out of his seat and ram him up against the wall, keeping a tight grip on his collar. Joe had shot up to the defence of his friend, but was too slow, and the guards were occupied by another fight.

"Listen up pretty boy," Harry's words stung with venom, "I want you to leave them alone, Maria _and _Gabriella, you get me? Talk to them again and you're dead meat!"

Troy shook his head, he refused to let Gabriella go. He heard Joe speak, "Just leave him ok? He's not done anything."

"He knows what he's done," Harry pushed harder on Troy's chest, knowing that he was hurting him , "and he should know that he's done nothing to get in my good books."

"Why do you care?!" Troy had begun to shout.

"Maria is everything to me! And Gabriella... she's like my daughter."

Troy smirked at Harry's sudden weakness, knowing that Gabriella was where he hurt most. "Really? Well she's mine now. She loves me! Did she tell you that? Huh? No didn't think so. She hates you. Just like I do. You hardly treat her like a daughter do you? You act like you hate her. So tell me _Harry_," Troy knew he could see Harry crumbling, "If you act like such a jerk to Gabriella, then why is she _like_ your daughter? "

Harry pushed again. He had begun to sweat from Troy's words, which drove him to shout what he had struggled to come to terms with for so long, "Because she _is_ my daughter!"

* * *

I've worked so hard on this chapter!! I really hope its good enough for everyone because I think that it's turned out well! Please review! Thanks for reading! 


	6. Chapter 5

Sorry about the long wait! Still busy but I want to get the story going again. Enjoy and please review!

P.S Just a quick note: I got a really good review from .Charmzi. and I just wanted to say that it made my day, so as a thankyou gift, you can have a nice, new shiny chapter of Locked Up! Hehe!

* * *

**Locked Up – Chapter 5**

Troy stared at Harry. His breathing was becoming shallow because Harry had such a tight grip. _"Did he just say what I thought he said?"_

Troy didn't know what to think. Harry had just admitted that he was Gabriella's father. Harry's eyes showed weakness. Troy could tell that Harry had been struggling with keeping that secret to himself. "How do you know?" Troy asked, hoping for some sort of mistake.

"Her mother told me a month ago, the first time she came to visit me."

"So Gabi doesn't know?" Troy struggled to keep the hope out of his voice.

"No she doesn't, and you can't tell her. She can't know yet."

"What makes you think I won't tell her?!" Troy was furious that Harry thought he could control him, "Give me one reason why I shouldn't tell her!"

"Because I know people, Troy," Troy was shocked at what he thought Harry was suggesting, seeing his reaction, Harry corrected himself, "I'm not threatening you! I know why you're here Troy, and I also know people who could get you out."

Troy didn't know what to say to Harry, he just nodded. He knew it was wrong to lie to Gabriella, but the way he saw it, the sooner he got out of prison, the sooner he could be with her.

Satisfied with Troy's reply, Harry let go of him and stormed out of the canteen. Troy sank to the floor, unsure of what to make of what he had just been told. "Looks like you've got some thinking to do," Joe's squeaky voice shook him from his thoughts.

"Yeah," Troy whispered breathlessly, "I guess I do."

* * *

Gabriella skipped up to the front doors and signed herself in. She had earned the trust of prison guards so now she was allowed to visit every other day as a 'relative' to Troy. Hurrying down the visiting room she paused and picked up a phone, and knocked on the glass to get Harry's attention. "How is she?"

"She's still in hospital."Gabriella smiled faintly at Harry's concern "The doctors say that she's going to make a full recovery and that she'll have to stay in hospital where there are plenty of oxygen tanks on hand."

As Gabriella carried on talking Troy felt a mix of emotions rising in him. Now he looked at them, he knew that they were related, he was just annoyed that he hadn't seen it before. They had the same dark curly hair, but Gabriella had her mother's even Hispanic skin tone. Troy sighed to himself, _"My freedom or Gabi knowing her father?"_

He knew that he had a big decision to make, and as Gabriella put the phone down and made her way to Troy's booth, he knew he made the right decision.

"Hey Troy"

"Heya" Troy's greeting was quiet, yet still warm given the circumstances.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing"

"There's something wrong."

"There was but it's ok now," Troy brushed it off, knowing that he shouldn't tell her what was going on.

Gabriella forgot about it and moved onto what she felt was more important, "When are you coming out?"

"In 3 years, same as it was last week, and the week before that!" Troy didn't mean to sound so rude but he was so frustrated at not being able to be with Gabriella.

At first she was hurt by Troy's tone but she softened as she knew what was going on, "I know you want to get out but just give it time ok? Given a few months you can appeal again!"

"I know, but a few months isn't soon enough! I love you so much Gabi! But it feels like nobody wants us to be together!"

"We'll figure something out," Gabriella was beginning to worry where Troy was going.

"Can you do something for me Gabi?"

"It depends," now she was really panicking as to what was going on, "Where are you going with this Troy?"

Troy's voice dropped to a whisper, "I need to see you again tonight, it's important. Please."

"Why? What's going on Troy? You're beginning to scare me!"

"Don't worry, it's just something's come up and I need to talk to you... in private. Max said he'd help me. He'll meet you in the parking lot, and then he'll take you round the back and into this room again. He says he won't go as far as leaving us alone in a room, we still have to talk through the phone, but please Gabi, say you'll be here."

Gabriella paused before giving her answer, "I'll be here Troy."

* * *

Clutching the bunch of flowers to her chest, Gabriella made her way shakily down the hospital corridor, she hated hospitals; so full of pain, and suffering. She checked herself in and opened the door to her mother's room. Maria was sitting up in bed, reading a magazine when she saw her daughter, "Babi! Come in, come in! How are you?"

"I'm OK, but more importantly how are you?"

"I'm surviving. Thankyou for doing what I said, I handled the police."

"Yeah, about that..." Gabriella finished arranging the flowers as she turned to her mother, "Why did you make me lie to the authorities?"

Gabriella trusted her mother but she was still angry at what she had made her do. "You'll find out soon enough, just trust me."

Gabriella sighed to herself, she was expecting that answer. Hating the silence, she spoke up, "Mr. Peterson called today to check you were OK. He says he still has some of your things from when he found you so I said I'd drop by later and pick them up."

"Gabi," Maria didn't know how to put it, "Be careful please, I know I should be grateful to Kyle, but something about him doesn't seem right."

"How could you say that mama? He saved your life! I'm only stopping by to pick up some stuff. Do you know anything about him?"

"All I know is that he's called Kyle Peterson, he's a crop sprayer, but he also organises cruises in and out of Paraguay."

"Huh, sounds genuine. Anyway, I just stopped in to visit, so I'll see you tomorrow, same time ok?"

"Okay, thankyou Gabi," Gabriella kissed her mother's forehead. "I'll see you tomorrow mama."

"Bye Gabi." Maria watched as Gabriella left the room and couldn't help but wary of what her daughter was about to do.

* * *

In was dark in the prison parking lot, and Gabriella was nervous about what she was doing. Ever since Harry had been sent to this prison, and her mother found out he was there, nearly everything Gabriella did was illegal. She hated not having her car either, being careful was difficult and nearly impossible when going everywhere by taxi or public transport. She jumped when an equally nervous looking Max tapped her on the shoulder. "Follow me."

Gabriella could tell that he didn't want to lose his job, but he also knew what he had to do. Before long, they had snuck into the prison room undetected. Knowing he had succeeded, Max nodded to Gabriella. "I'll leave you to it. I'm going to have to lock you in here. Knock three times on the door when you're done. Oh and Troy wanted me to give you this," he said as he handed her a brown padded envelope, "He wants to talk to you before you open it, but I can't let him give it to you in person."

Gabriella thanked Max and took the package, before fumbling her way to the end booth. To save electricity, the lighting was turned down low so she could only just make out her way to the end of the room. Once she got to the booth she saw that Max had left a small battery lamp on the table. Turning it on, she immediately saw Troy on the other side of the glass, wincing at the light, his eyes refocusing.

"Great, you made it," He said rubbing a hand over his hair. "I'm sorry it had to be all secretive, but I had no choice."

Gabriella breathed heavily into the phone as she inspected the envelope. "So what's this all about?"

"You're in danger Gabi," Gabriella's heartbeat quickened. She wondered how many times she was going to be told that, "I know you've already heard that but all I know is that you're in real danger. Open it up."

Gabriella shakily teared open the package and a small mobile phone fell out into her hand. "Max got us both one. If you're in danger or you think you need help, ring me. I'm number one on speed dial and I'll be able to help you. Once you've left here, just give me a ring to check that it works."

"What if I run out of credit?"

"It's topped up full, and as long as you don't use it too much, you should be ok for battery too."

"Why do I even need this?"

"You just do Gabi, trust me."

"OK, OK. I'm just sick of being told to trust people when I don't even know what is going on."

"I don't even know what's going on myself! Just don't worry about it, I'll always be he..."

Troy was cut off by Max running into the room, "Gabriella, you need to leave, now!"

"What? Why? What's happening?!"

"They know that you're here, well not you, just they know that someone is here. I need to get you out of here... NOW!"

Before Gabriella could say goodbye, she was grabbed by the arm and dragged out of the room and out the way she came. She could hear muffled shouts from other guards when Max suddenly stopped at a door, "Run, Gabi, run alongside the road for 10 minutes then call a taxi ok? I'll take care of everything else, you just need to get out, ok?"

Gabriella nodded, she was shaking with adrenaline and she could hear the guards thundering down the stairwell. Max pushed her out the door and she could hear him locking it then the confused voices of the guards stopping at the door.

She thought that Max had lied to her, before she heard him say, "Just give up, whoever it is, they've got away. We'll get them next time."

Gabriella was relieved that she had got away, she looked down at the small phone in the palm of her hand, before sprinting off down the road to call a cab to Kyle's house.

* * *

By now it was getting late and Gabriella just wanted to go home, her mother said she was going to be back by now, but the hospital had kept her in. That meant that Gabriella had many nights of loneliness ahead of her, but she'd much rather be home alone than talking to some stranger, regardless of what she and her mother owed him for what he did.

"Hello Gabriella," Kyle looked pleased at her arrival. "Come in."

"Hi," Gabriella was slightly nervous, and couldn't help but think back to her mother's warnings. "You said you had some stuff for me?"

"Ah yes I do, come on through, would you like a drink?" Kyle offered as he led her through to the living room.

"No thanks," Gabriella was still wary of him, desperate for the silence to be filled, "So my mom told me you do cruises as well as agriculture."

Kyle looked away into the distance as if trying to find his words before continuing, "Ah yes, it brings in the money, tourism does."

"I'm sure it does, do you specialise anywhere?"

"Yes, Paraguay. The harbours are beautiful in the spring, so I organise lots of trips with cruise companies."

"I see." Gabriella considered whether or not there was a good income, looking around his home, it didn't seem like it judging by his living conditions. _"Rough place for a cruise salesman_" She thought as she swatted a fly away.

"I won't be long, I've left everything in the kitchen." Kyle shuffled out of the room as Gabriella felt a vibration in her pocket, she brought out the phone she had been given earlier to see Troy's name flashing across the screen. "Hello?"

"Gabriella I told you to call me after you left!"

"Don't worry! I just caught a taxi then came here, no biggy!" Gabriella got up and began to inspect the room.

"Where's 'here'? Gabi, what aren't you telling me?"

Gabriella was taken aback by Troy's tone but calmly explained, "I'm just at Kyle's. He was the guy who saved my mom. He's got some of her stuff, her wallet and phone, I think."

"Yeah, but can you trust him? I meant what I said about you being in danger. What's he like, what does he do for a living?"

Gabriella rolled her eyes and started looking through papers on Kyle's desk. "He's just a genuinely nice guy, Troy! He sprays crops but in his spare time he does cruise tours in South America." Gabriella paused when she came across an envelope with 'Montez' scrawled across it and her mother's passport photo stapled to the front. Although confused, Gabriella subconsciously carried on talking, "Yeah he just works with cruise companies and takes people to the harbours in Paraguay. They're meant to be really nice in spring, maybe you could take me one day..."

Gabriella was cut off by Troy's sharp voice, "Gabi you need to get out of there, fast."

"Why?"

"Gabi," Troy voice became deep and filled with anxiety, "Paraguay is landlocked."

* * *

I don't know if I really like this chapter so let me know what you think. I'm doing my best to update asap but it is difficult! Thankyou for reading and please review! 


	7. Chapter 6

Sorry for the slow update... again! Still lots of work at school and I'm finding it difficult to update, but I'm not going to abandon it just yet!! Enjoy!

* * *

**Locked Up – Chapter 6 **

Gabriella felt the blood thumping around in her head, the line to Troy was breaking up, and she was finding it difficult to hear him. "Troy? What do you mean it's landlocked?"

"There aren't any harbours... No harbours... he's lying... dangerous."

Then her heart sank as the line finally gave up and cut off, the monotonous dial tone rang in her ears mocking her back into reality. She ended the call and slipped the phone back into her pocket. She could hear glasses chinking from what she presumed was the kitchen, but she knew it wouldn't be long before he returned. Gabriella could only think about how messed up this whole situation had become. _"I was just helping mom, why me?"_

Then she thought of Troy and realised that all her problems had happened for a reason. For him.

The seriousness of her current predicament made her think where her priorities lay at that current moment in time. She needed to get out, and fast. Looking down she saw that she was still holding the envelope with her mother's name on it. Stuffing it in her pocket, she decided that she needed to save the opening of it until later. She looked back over the desk, seeing quite a few envelopes, all with names etched across them. Whatever was going on here, Gabriella knew that it wasn't good. She checked that she had everything she arrived with before finally being ready to leave. Turning around, her eyes met with two green orbs, they stung with venom and were not the warm welcoming pair of eyes that greeted her at the door just moments ago. "I see you've made yourself quite a home, such a nice way to repay me after I saved your mother's life." His voice was dripping with sarcasm, and Gabriella knew that she wasn't going to get out without a fight.

"What's going on? Why did you lie to me?" Gabriella was finding it hard to talk; her throat had gone dry from the shock of realising how stupid she'd been for trusting him. "I've done nothing to hurt you!"

"No but your father has."

"I don't even know who my father is! He left when I was only young and whatever he's done, I shouldn't be responsible for!"

"Ah, see that's where you're wrong. You are actually the reason for this whole mess. Directly, you aren't really..." Kyle paused, Gabriella's thoughts were that it was more for effect than actual thinking, "But if you were to get technical, then yes, this is all because of you."

"What do you mean? What have I done?" Gabriella was desperate to understand.

"Well, when your mother found out that she was pregnant, she had to make certain changes to her life. Quite drastic changes at that! She needed some inside help to make these things happen, and basically I was the one who was prepared to help her. Harry hasn't exactly been brilliant either. He was responsible for making sure I got something in return for this favour. But he was less than happy to give me what I wanted – what I needed."

"What did you do for my mother?"

"Well that's something that you'll never know, but put it this way, Harry is quite important to you, more so than you realise, you should make the most of him while you can. I tried to sort this mess out. Tried to burn down Harry's house, with him in it, but I had a minor setback. Someone else got to take the blame, so it's of no matter to me. Poor idiot, stuck in prison while I'm still doing what I do."

"Why are you telling me this? There's nothing stopping me from going to the cops, and you know I will!"

"Oh, I do not doubt that you could, but here's the thing, you won't be going to the cops, because you won't be alive to tell the tale."

As Kyle smirked, Gabriella could tell that he wasn't joking, and it was her subconscious that told her to run at that split second, as Kyle lunged for her. Gabriella ran to the front door and began pounding on it, her shaking hands desperately pulling on the various handles and locks. But it was no good, he'd locked her in. She looked back, to see that Kyle had gotten up from his fall and was heading right for her. Her first reaction was to run again, but her subconscious and her logic weren't in sync. Before she knew it, Gabriella had scrambled up the stairs, leaving her trapped. Kyle's heavy, determined footsteps were pounding up the stairs, slowing as he realised that it was unlikely that she could get away.

"Poor Gabriella, it didn't have to be this way, but you've done nothing but harm to yourself." He rounded the corner, his emerald eyes meeting with the tearful brown ones.

"Please, I've done nothing!"

Tears were streaming down her cheeks and she was going light headed from the adrenaline. As she heard the click of a gun, her mind flickered back to Troy, and then she knew that one day she would die, but she was determined for it not to be that day. Her optimism was ripped to shreds, however, when she saw that Kyle had her cornered in the hall, with the gun raised to her heart.

* * *

"WHY NOT? SHE COULD BE DEAD BY NOW FOR ALL WE KNOW!" Troy felt helpless, he wanted to help her, he wanted to save Gabriella, but he was in prison.

Max felt bad for Troy, but sneaking Gabriella in was as far as he would risk his job. "Troy, there's nothing you can do."

Troy appeared to be lost in thought, before continuing, "Exactly, Max you are a genius!"

"I am?"

"Yes you are, buddy, yes you are!"

Troy looked overjoyed given the situation, and the guard was getting more and more confused, "How exactly am I a genius?"

"There's nothing I can do, but there is something that YOU can do!"

Max finally caught on to what Troy was hinting, "Uh-huh! No way Troy! I've already risked my job by getting Gabriella in earlier on but there's no way I can go help her!"

"What do you mean? She's in danger, Max, please!"

"Ever since the little stunt I pulled in the stairwell, security is on high alert. They know that something is going on, they just don't know what. Some are saying that there is someone trying to free one of the prisoners, others are saying that she _was_ a prisoner. There are even a few rumours that she was planting a pipe bomb!"

"A pipe bomb?" Troy then realised what the conversation was meant to be about, "That's not the point. The point is that Gabi is in danger, and we both know that the only person who can help her is you."

"What about her mother?"

"Maria's still in hospital, that's why Gabi went to Kyle's, to pick up some of her stuff."

"I don't know..."

"Please Max, this girl is my everything. Gabi makes me feel like I'm someone, and when I'm with her, I feel honestly and truly happy. If you don't do this, she could be dead. If you kill her, then you might as well kill me."

"Do you even know where Gabriella is?"

"I think that she's still at Kyle's." Troy couldn't tell whether or not Max was agreeing or even considering helping him.

"Just give me the address."

Troy's heart leapt, as he knew that Max would do his best to save Gabriella.

* * *

This was the end, she was certain of it. Looking down the barrel of the gun that Kyle was holding, Gabriella then knew what it meant to have your entire life flash before your eyes. It had nothing to do with actually seeing your entire life, Gabriella understood that now. She didn't see what she had already lived through, she saw what she had to live for. She saw her mother, and Troy. It was only for a split second, but she guessed that was the flashing part. Gabriella knew what she had to stay alive for. She knew what she'd be leaving behind.

"So, my dear Gabriella, any last requests?"

"Yes there are actually," Gabriella shocked herself by her confident tone of voice, "I want to apologise."

This caught Kyle off guard, "What do you mean you want to _apologise_?"

"Well," Gabriella reached behind her to feel a small glass vase, "It seems that you put a lot of hard work into this plan, so I guess what I mean, is that I'm sorry that I've ruined it for you."

"Wha- " Kyle was cut off by Gabriella smashing the vase over his head. His finger was on the trigger so the gun went off, the bullet skimming past Gabriella's arm.

Looking at the limp, but not yet conscious body, lying on the floor, Gabriella knew that he wouldn't be down for long. She was surprised that she had done something so... brave. She went to pick up then gun, but Kyle muttered something under his breath, causing her to jump.

Stepping over the glass shards surrounding Kyle, Gabriella ran down the hall. She took the steps down the stairs two at a time but her escape was quickly slowed down when she realised that she was still locked in.

Hearing someone stumbling to their feet, Gabriella's heart beat quickened, if that was even possible, and frantically began running through rooms in the house trying to find a way out. She finally found the kitchen, and she paused for a moment when she saw a box of bullets and various guns spread over the kitchen counter.

Hearing Kyle thumping down the stairs, she began frantically looking for somewhere to hide; she squeezed herself flat against the wall between a dresser and the open door to another room. She was well hidden, but if Kyle closed the door, she'd be dead there and then.

Gabriella held her breath as Kyle entered the room, his slow steps mocking her. She was sure that he could see her, but judging by the look on his face, he had yet to discover her. The open door made it look like she had hidden in the living room that the door led to.

A shiver went up her spine as she saw the smirk on his face, as he raised the gun and went through to the living room. Upon not finding her in the room, Gabriella heard Kyle mutter something under his breath before throwing the gun into the kitchen. Seeing the weapon skid over onto the floor just in front of the dresser that was hiding her, she knew that if Kyle came back for the gun, he would see her through the gap behind the door.

Hearing Kyle slam his way through the hall way to the other side of the house, Gabriella took her chances. _"Now or never..." _She encouraged herself. Pushing the door away from her, she ran to the door that led from the kitchen to the back garden. She winced as she heard the back door slam behind her. But she didn't stop to see if Kyle had followed her. Running around the house, Gabriella ran through the flowers. Usually she respected people's property, _"For him I'll make an exception." _She thought to herself. In the corner of her eye she could see Kyle through the front window, he had noticed her and was running towards the front door.

Gabriella couldn't feel her legs anymore, she ran down the drive and onto the street. There were no cars or people, and she had only the streetlights to guide her way. Her moment of freedom was swiftly threatened as she heard the revving of a car engine. Stopping in her tracks she turned to see Kyle's car tearing towards her. _"Run, Gabi, run!"_ She knew that she was in danger, but her feet felt as though they were glued to the ground. The car was still racing forward, and Gabriella's mind flashed back to Troy and her mother.

She closed her eyes waiting for the impact, but was shocked back into reality when she felt something push into her right side. She felt as though she was floating. _"This is it, I'm dead"_ Her world was brought crashing back when she heard the car continue to tear down the street. She felt a sharp pain in her side, and saw that she had fallen on the concrete to the left of where she had been standing moments before. She heard a few gunshots nearby, but the car's engine roared off into the distance.

Two arms pulled her up, and she slowly opened her eyes to see the wary, but concerned eyes of Max looking down at her. "You ok?"

"Erm... yeah, I guess." Gabriella didn't understand what just happened.

"The crazy dude was heading straight for you, I pushed you out of the way then got up and tried to shoot his tyres, but he kept driving. Are you ok? Are you hurt?"

"No, I'm fine. Thankyou, you saved me."

"Yeah well, if Troy hadn't told me to come here and help you, you'd most certainly be dead."

"Troy sent you?"

"Yeah, there's some pretty tight security since that stunt we pulled earlier on, he tried to get out but I stopped him before he even left the room. I was a guard so at least I had the better chance of getting to you."

"Thankyou." Gabriella had no idea what to make of what had just happened.

"I think you should come back to the prison. I know it'll be tough to get in, but Troy is going crazy, he thinks you're dead."

Gabriella could only nod as she shakily followed Max to his car, which was only a small walk away.

* * *

It was dark as Max's car pulled into the car park. He led her round the side of the prison like he had done before, and opened the back door into the stairwell that she had escaped from earlier that evening. Gabriella carried on following Max, but her thoughts were on what had happened during that day. She didn't understand how she, Gabriella, of all people, could do so much in such a short space of time. She was thankful it was the weekend, going to school in this state would've been terrible. _"Certainly the most eventful Saturday I've had in a long time."_

"I'll leave you to it."

Looking up she could see Max holding the visiting room door open for her with a small, but genuine, smile on his face. Making her way down the room, she could see the small battery lamp, still there from earlier on. Sitting down and picking up the phone, she smiled at Troy. He had fallen asleep on the table, with the phone wedged between his arm and his ear.

"Troy?"

His head shot up, his blue eyes filled with concern and relief. "You're safe. You have no idea how much I worried, I phoned you, and you said you were at his house and-"

"Troy!" Gabriella cut him off. "I don't care."

"What? What do you mean you don't care?"

"I don't care, Troy. I almost died. I know that I scared you, and I'm sorry for being so stupid. But I'm alive, and I'm safe. I don't want to talk about how close it was, or how much you worried. I know you worried about me, because you love me."

Troy didn't know what to say, so he just sat there, with his mouth hanging open.

"I love you too Troy, and I don't want to waste what time I have talking about what could've been. Did you know that you were the first thing that I thought of when I thought I was going to die?"

"What about your mother?" Troy joked. Gabriella's speech had lightened the atmosphere.

"She was second." Gabriella giggled.

Troy looked at her with admiration. After everything, she still smiled and laughed like she had before.

"I can't wait 'til I can get out of here."

"Me neither. Troy, I know that you really don't want to, but would saying that you're guilty get you out any sooner?"

"I honestly don't know. But you know that I don't want to do that."

"I know but still, if it meant we could be together sooner."

"I'm innocent," he looked at her with pleading eyes.

Gabriella paused before sighing, "I know."

Suddenly remembering, Gabriella pulled out the envelope from before and placed it on the table in front of her. "I found it on Kyle's desk."

"What's in it?"

"I have no idea."

A curious but comfortable silence came between the pair. "Open it then!" Troy's curiosity had gotten the better of him.

"Okay, Okay!" Nervously, Gabriella reached forward and slowly began to peel open the envelope. Another photo of her mother, identical to the one stapled to the front, fell out onto the table. Picking up the photo, Gabriella ran her finger over her mother's face. She looked so young, "She couldn't have been more than 25" She told to no-one in particular.

"There's something written on the back." Troy pointed out.

Turning over the photo, Gabriella saw the words 'Montez, Maria, Mexico' written across the back in faded pencil. Putting the photo down, she reached back into the envelope and pulled out a piece of paper. Looking back into the packet, it was now empty. "It's a birth certificate, it's my mothers."

"Why would he have your mother's birth certificate?"

"I don't know, he said that he did some favour for her. It looks like her birth certificate, but it says that she was born in Mexico. She always told me that she's spent her entire life here in Albuquerque."

"Maybe she was born in Mexico, but she moved?"

"No, she's always said that she was born and raised here..." Gabriella looked confused, "But why would she lie to me?"

Troy had no answer to her question, he just watched her trying to make sense of what she found.

"Troy, have you spoken to Harry in the prison?"

Her question was unexpected, and caught Troy off guard. He suddenly felt guilty again for not telling Gabriella about Harry.

"Yeah, once or twice. Why?"

"Well, Kyle said that Harry was responsible for paying back this favour, and I was just wondering what he had to do with it."

Troy paused for a moment. He knew that Harry could get him out of jail, but he knew that keeping this secret for his own benefit was selfish and wrong.

"Gabriella," his tone of voice got her full attention, "There's something you should know about Harry."

* * *

Another chapter done! Will try and update soon! Please please please review! I'd love to know what you all think! 


	8. Chapter 7

Ok first off... wow! I got about 10 reviews in about 2 or 3 days of posting the last chapter. I got quite a few PMs threatening violence if I didn't update... Well I thought it was about time I got on with the next chapter. But not without just saying thankyou to a few of my favourite reviews:

Marebear11, Zanessa Troyela Lover (for making my day! ), Helenilia, greenlefty and adorkabletwenty7.

These were some people who wrote reviews since the beginning of this story who made me smile. Anyhoo, I bet you're all dying to know what happens next... so here goes! Enjoy and for the umpteenth time... reviewing will be rewarded by updates! Just kidding... kind of.

* * *

**Locked Up – Chapter 7**

Those eyes... those blue eyes. Filled with so much regret. Gabriella looked harder at the ocean orbs, trying to find some shred of joking, or... or lying. "Gabi?" Troy was desperate to hear what the brunette beauty had to say next.

Gabriella had so much to say, so much that she wanted to tell him. But she simply couldn't. Looking into Troy's eyes, Gabriella knew that Troy understood that. "Just talk to me when you're ready."

"_Is that all he has to say? He drops that... that bombshell on me then has the nerve to say 'talk to me when you're ready?' Who does he think he is?" _She hated him. But she loved him. She wanted to smash through the glass and gouge his eyes out, but not before choking him... with a bear hug. The pair sat at the booth in silence. Both staring at the other; both knowing exactly what the other one was thinking. "You knew." Gabriella finally spoke, "You knew, yet you didn't tell me."

"I was scared."

"Of what, Troy? Staying in prison or of losing me? Either way, that's pretty selfish of you!"

"I was confused, he threatened me if I told."

"But that didn't mean you had to lie to me! You _lied_ Troy, you blatantly lied to my face!"

Troy felt a bead of sweat break onto his forehead. That was it. It was over. He knew it. If only he had told her what he knew. If only he hadn't pretended everything was ok. If only...

"You lied... but I love you for it."

"What?"

Troy was confused. One minute she said that he was selfish, and now she was saying she loved him. "I don't know what it is about us Troy, but I know the way you think. I know that by not telling me you were hoping to get out sooner so you could be with me."

"Got it in one." Troy's eyes shimmered with just a shred of hope that he hadn't lost her after all.

"So it's true?" Gabriella was finally coming to terms with what she had been told.

Troy's only reply was a small nod. "He's my dad." Gabriella's shaking head showed how shocked she was. "I can't believe that I actually know my father."

"Why? What did you think before?"

"Mum always told me that he left us, he left us a long time ago, before I could even remember."

"So what now?"

"Well I know now, but Harry doesn't know that. So let's keep it that way and who knows, maybe Harry can help you, and you'll have told me. It'll all figure itself out in the end."

Troy was amazed by her. He'd just told her who her real father was, and she didn't even bat an eyelid.

"Troy?"

The young man was broken out of his daydream, "Yes..."

"I need to leave soon, I just want some time to myself, I just want to figure stuff out. But first..."

Troy knew that the time had come. Gabriella had never asked him why he was in prison. She didn't judge him. But she deserved to know the truth, just like she deserved to know who her real father was. "Ok Gabi, I'll tell you."

* * *

An eerie silence welcomed Troy as he entered the cafeteria. Technically, the room was still as loud as ever, but Troy couldn't hear it. He had told Gabriella everything and he didn't know what to feel. He felt vulnerable but safe at the same time. He was in a daze, so much so that he didn't even notice that Harry was in front of him before his lunch tray had been taken from his hands and thrown into the nearby dustbin. "Hey!"

"You're coming with me." Harry's expression was set in stone. He wasn't happy, and Troy knew it.

Once Harry had dragged Troy out of the canteen and into a nearby hallway, Troy began to wish that the armed guards really were everywhere. Harry grabbed Troy's collar and rammed him against the wall again. Troy's back went into a light switch which made him cry out with pain, before reflecting on the situation. _"Talk about déjà vu... without the light switch."_

"What did you say to her?"

"N-Nothing."

"I saw you talking to her at visiting time, you told her didn't you?"

When Troy didn't answer, Harry swiftly punched him in the stomach, knocking the air out of him. Troy doubled over in pain, but straightened out before being pushed back into the wall. "DIDN'T YOU?!"

"No I didn't, I swear I didn't!"

"How do I know you're not lying?"

"What would telling Gabi the truth do me? She'd leave me for lying to her, and then you wouldn't get me out of this dump. Telling the truth would do more harm than good."

Inside, Troy wanted to scoff at the irony of what he'd just said, but he knew that would give it away. Harry seemed to swallow the story, and loosened his grip. Now he was just holding onto Troy with one hand, which was strategically placed just under his throat.

"OK, but you see him?" Harry pulled Troy off the wall and yanked him round to make him look at what Harry wanted him to see. Sitting there, all alone and looking rather vulnerable, was Joe. "You and I both know what he's here for. Murder. He didn't do it, but that's not what the evidence says. You know what they say, the evidence never lies."

Troy felt a lump in his throat. Joe looked menacing, but Troy knew what a genuine guy he was, "What about Joe?"

"I know that you've both gotten on pretty well. You're outsiders. You know what all the other guys call you two? The trash. Wanna know why?"

Troy felt like there was no place he'd rather be, than back at school. Then the roles would be reversed. "'Cos every lunch, when you two _pathetic_ excuses of prisoners come into the room, you get your dinner, and then go back to where you belong," Harry yanked Troy around again, so he was looking at Joe and their table, "To the trash cans."

Even though he wasn't facing Harry, Troy could see the smirk on his face. "He's in a very fragile position, and as I said, I know people." Troy didn't like where Harry was going with this, "Tell Gabriella, and..." Harry let go of Troy to make a slicing motion across his neck. "Bye bye Crusher."

Troy heard a crash of doors, and saw the guards bundle Harry off towards the cells. He didn't resist, he just looked back at Troy, challenging him with his eyes.

* * *

The door slammed, and it made Maria wince at the sound of it. Gabriella stormed into the living room, a look of pure anger and hurt etched into her face. "Gabi! I'm back!" Maria got up and stretched out her arms for a hug.

"I can see that."

Maria's arms dropped, it certainly wasn't the welcome she was expecting. "I'm back from hospital and I don't even get a hug?"

"How dare you." Gabriella's words broke Maria's heart piece by piece. Gabriella had never spoken to her like this before, "How dare you lie to me."

"What do- "

"Shut up," Gabriella's voice showed just how fed up she really was. Gabriella turned her back to her mother and walked towards the fireplace, resting her arm on the mantelpiece, before rubbing her eyes with her free hand.

"Gabriella Montez! What on earth has gotten into you?! I come home, from hospital might I add, and this is the welcome home I get!"

When Gabriella didn't answer, Maria decided to change the subject. "So how's Troy?"

"Fine."

"And Harry, did you talk to Harry?"

"No."

"You should get to know him, he's a really nice guy."

"I'm sure he is." Gabriella fought to hide the sarcasm from her voice, but she was failing miserably.

"I know you don't get on with him, but you should. Please just give him a chance, for me? He means a lot to me, and he should to you too. He's like an uncle to you. Well not so much an uncle, more like, like a..."

Maria was struggling to find the words, but then Gabriella said something which surprised her.

"Like a father?"

The two women stood in complete silence, before Gabriella pushed off the fireplace and made her way out of the room. Maria grabbed her arm, "Gabi- " but Gabriella shrugged it off.

"Don't even pretend that you care."

Maria felt a tear roll down her cheek as she watched her daughter leave the room, and only when she heard a bedroom door slam, did she let out a breath which she didn't even know she was holding.

* * *

Albuquerque looked so nice at night. The lights made the place look like a dream, and the stars, they were just another story. On a hill, looking over the inhabitants of the city, a young man sat on his own. The wind ruffled his hair but his look remained solid. Plucking a phone out of his pocket he dialled a familiar number. The ringing tone seemed to echo, before a women's voice was heard. "Hello, Montez residence."

Silence.

"Hello?"

The man hung up, before putting the phone back in his pocket and continuing his previous line of thought:

_The heat was unimaginable, but it was worth it. "A debt repaid" Kyle thought to himself as he looked over the burning house. His eyes glazed over with pride before turning back to the young man who lay unconscious on the floor. "Such a shame..." Kyle whispered as his gloved hands pushed a plastic bottle which had been filled with petrol, into the boy's hand. Looking at his handy work, Kyle knew that he done what he thought was right. Harry's house was up in flames, and he had knocked some innocent bystander out and planted the evidence._

_Walking back to his car, seemingly oblivious to the inferno behind him, Kyle took an envelope out of his jacket and stroked his thumb over the picture that was stapled to the front. "Montez... Maria Peterson. It's got a good ring to it. Shame it'll never happen though." Opening the envelope, he took out a birth certificate, and another piece of paper. Replacing the photo and the birth certificate in the packet, he put it back in his pocket, before observing the paper. It was a contract, typed on a typewriter, with two ink smudged signatures at the bottom. _

_Kyle tutted to himself, "Should've read the small print Harry-boy: Debt must be repaid otherwise your home is at risk of being repossessed." He read aloud._

_Stopping just before his car, Kyle turned around to look at the collapsing house, "Repossessing...Burning down." He paused then shrugged nonchalantly, "Same difference."_

A smirk crept up onto Kyle's face before being quickly wiped away, _"Why did he have to escape?! I planned it so well! At least that kid got to take the blame."_

It was a risky line of business, but he loved his job. Getting up, he walked over to hiscar and looked in the back seat, there was a petrol can and some matches, "Maria, poor... sweet Maria." He muttered to himself. He loved her. There was no denying it, but if he couldn't kill Harry, and if Gabriella already knew what he was up to, she would have to do. Climbing into the front seat, he started the engine. For Kyle Peterson, tomorrow couldn't come soon enough, "Ashes to ashes... dust to dust."

* * *

It had been roughly an hour since Gabriella had stormed out of the room, and Maria sat in silence in the lounge. She wasn't doing anything. She wasn't watching TV or thinking. She was just... being. Light footsteps slowly made their way into the room, and Maria felt the couch sink under her daughter's weight. Then two arms engulfed the woman in a hug, and she couldn't hold it together anymore. She burst into tears, sobbing which was soon joined by the young girl also. Both women crying, each others tears comforting their own.

Pulling away, Maria wiped her tear-stained then did the same to her daughter. "Gabi, I know you're upset that Harry is your father, but I thought it would be for the best, I'm so sorry."

"I know Mama, I'm sorry that this has happened. I just wish everything would go back to how it was before."

"It's a bit late for that now. But it's Monday tomorrow, a new week. Just go to school, and carry on as you were before. Taylor will be there and she can help you. Obviously don't tell her too much."

"But she's my best friend!"

"I know but telling her could put her in danger, and that's the last thing we want."

"Ok."

Both the Montez girls sat and looked at one another, waiting for the other to speak. "Gabi, go and make yourself something to eat, I just need to go out, I won't be long. Then when I get back we can have a nice long talk about all of this. Ok?"

Gabriella nodded, "Where are you going."

"Just to put some money in the bank, I'll be back soon."

Maria got up and put her coat on, then left the house, making sure she had locked the door behind her. Hurrying to the bus stop, Maria looked at her watch. There was about half an hour left until visiting time was over. She needed to talk to him.

* * *

Harry was sitting in his booth, he wasn't expecting anyone, but all the prisoners had to stay there, and sitting there whilst everyone but him and Troy had a companion was punishment enough. He was brought out of his thoughts to see a breathless Maria sit down and pick up the phone. "Harry, I need to talk to you."

"Sure, what's wrong?" His voice was clearly sympathetic and he was concerned for Maria.

"Gabriella's really upset, but I think everything is going to be ok now, I think she's going to give you a chance."

"A chance for what?"

"You know, to get to know you a bit better."

"And why would she want to do that?"

"Erm... because you're her father?" Maria didn't know what had gotten into everyone today. "You did tell her didn't you?"

Harry's eyes turned to slits, and his grip on the phone was so strong that his knuckles were turning white. "I didn't tell her, but I'm pretty sure I know who did."

Maria turned to look at where Harry's death stare was directed to see Troy propped up on the table staring into space. "Harry... don't you dare do anything stupid. Gabi loves him, if you kill him, it's like killing your own daughter."

"He's not the one that I'm gonna be killing."

* * *

I don't like this chapter, simple as. But I really want your feedback so get reviewing!

**Oh and AN: I kinda figured that this story isn't so much about Troy and Gabriella, it's more of a plot involving them both. Because there aren't many romantic scenes, I think I might change the genre to Drama/Crime. So what do you think, just leave a review saying A or B:**

**I leave the genre as Romance/Drama**

**I change the genre to Drama/Crime**

Thanks for reading. Hope you like the story so far! Please review! In return for reviews... I will give you a nice new shiny Chapter 8! Hehe.


	9. Chapter 8 Part 1

I had a bit of a mental block, but I've been really busy (exams) and I just haven't had the time nor the patience to carry on! But here's chapter 8, as promised! Will update sooner next time!

By the way... just to let anyone who cares know, I'm thinking of the next story I'm going to start. But I don't like the idea of writing loads of stories at once. It seems too stressful so I'm going to start it once I've finished this one.

Now for the story! This chapter is just to clear things up for everyone. Enjoy and please please please review!!!

* * *

**Locked Up – Chapter 8 – Part 1**

Maria turned over in her bed for what seemed like the thousandth time that night. She had endless thoughts flying around in her head, and there was nothing that she could do to end them. _"What did he mean?"_ She couldn't stop thinking about what Harry had said. It was only one sentence, but the look of pure hatred which he had directed towards Troy was what bothered her the most. She knew how much Troy meant to her daughter, but she couldn't understand the connection between him and Harry.

Sighing in frustration, Maria gave up attempting to fall asleep. She slid out of her bed and padded over to her window. Using the window seat to kneel on, Maria opened the window and breathed in the cold air of the night. Resting her chin on the window pane, she felt peaceful. She felt as though everything was going to be ok. Looking up at the cloudy night sky, the woman brushed the hair out of her eyes that was being blown around by the wind.

Turning away from the window, Maria crept out of her room, closing the door quietly behind her. Looking down the corridor, she could see Gabriella's room next to hers. She felt bad for keeping everything from her, she really did. But Maria couldn't seeing how knowing about everything would help the young girl. She already had enough problems as it was. _"But she deserves to know."_ Maria was completely torn as to what she had to do.

Without realising, she was in the kitchen. She poured herself a glass of milk before perching herself onto a bar stool that was sticking out from under the counter. It seemed like forever that Maria was just sitting there, sipping at her milk and staring at the many pill bottles sitting on the counter. They were all from the hospital, and they sat there, as if they were a sign as to how much trouble Maria was in. Startled by a sudden noise, she turned to see her daughter standing in the doorway, scratching her head. The clueless look on her face made Maria laugh.

"Mama, what are you doing down here. It's 2am. Come on, you need your rest."

The concern in her voice prompted Maria's next thoughts _"I need to tell her. She needs to know."_

"Gabi, I think you should sit down."

"What now?" Gabriella had become bored of people 'sitting her down and telling her important news' and she honestly had no idea what she should've been expecting.

"I think you deserve to know."

"Know what?"

"Everything. When I was in hospital I promised I would tell you eventually. I think that time has come."

Gabriella knew that what her mother was going to tell her was important. She sat herself down and nervously pulled her pyjama sleeves over her hands. She wasn't sure whether or not she wanted to hear what her mother had to say.

"Well, as you know, Harry is your father. I'm sorry you had to find out from anyone else but me. But I know how you feel about Troy. So I guess what's done is done."

"Just tell me already!"

Maria herself was getting nervous, her mouth was going dry and she was sure that Gabriella could hear her heart pounding from her chest. "When I was about your age, I was still living in Mexico. I was born there, and I had every intention of staying. But at the age of 19, I met your father. We were together for about 3 or 4 years. We weren't married and one day, I found out I was pregnant. At first I was devastated. There was no way I could abort. Putting you up for adoption was out of the question. Harry loved me and I loved him, but neither of us wanted to marry. Harry's father was furious, he went crazy and swore that if we didn't get married to save the family name, then he would have me killed."

Gabriella felt tears prick in the corners of her eyes. She couldn't help but think of the pain that her mother must've been through for her.

"Harry was determined to help me, so he wanted to get me over the border. He had friends here in Albuquerque so it seemed like the safest option, but I needed papers, and a way of getting here. That was where Kyle came in. He got my visa, passport, birth certificate... basically any paperwork that I could ever need. I had to spend a lot of time with Kyle. He had to protect me when Harry went away to work, but over time, I found out that Kyle had fallen in love with me. He got a friend of his to take me over the border in a small truck along with a few other people."

Gabriella already had tears streaming down her face, and Maria herself was beginning to felt her eyes stinging. "Before the truck left, I said goodbye to Harry. I gave him an envelope with all the money I had saved up in it, and I told him to give it to Kyle because of what he had done for me. Harry insisted that he would pay Kyle himself, then I made the mistake of accidentally telling Harry that Kyle loved me. Before I could tell him not to do anything, the truck had begun to drive off, and even from a long way away, I could see that Harry was angry."

Maria took a deep breath, then continued, "Well obviously I got here safe, and I got a few letters from Harry. He told me that he had paid back Kyle, but I found out recently that Harry refused to do so. He was furious that Kyle loved me."

"Why didn't he stay with you?"

"Who?"

"Harry. If he loved you, he should've gone with you."

"He wanted to stay and help other people who needed to leave the country. That's the reason he's in prison. It's all because he smuggled people across the border. I was happy to leave him, because I knew that he was staying for a good reason."

"So why did Kyle save you from the car?"

"He was the one who put me there. I didn't know it at the time, but it does make sense. He loved me, but not as much as he hated Harry. He was ready to kill me, but I guess he changed his mind and wanted me alive. It was pretty unlikely that Kyle would be there at that specific moment out of pure coincidence."

Gabriella nodded, her mother had a point. Wiping her tears onto her sleeve, she realised an important part of the story that her mother had missed out. "What about Troy?"

"Before Harry had been put into prison, he was still bringing people over the border, but he was living here at the time. He knew that the police were close to getting him, so he did all the work through other people. He stayed here in New Mexico, then he got other people to do the communication for him. He had changed his surname to West, but Kyle had contacts, and tracked him down."

"What does this have to do with Troy?"

"Well, as revenge for everything, Kyle attempted to burn down Harry's house. But Harry was out at the time, and the only way to save himself was to frame someone. He knocked out Troy, and planted evidence."

"What?! Are you honestly trying to tell me that YOU KNOW HOW TROY WAS FRAMED?!" Gabriella's voice had risen without her realising. She didn't know what to feel. All she knew was that she was experiencing a mix of emotions.

"Look, Gabi, I know that you're going to be upset-"

"Upset? UPSET? That doesn't even begin to describe what I'm feeling right now! First Harry, now this! When is it going to end? What other secrets are you keeping from me?!"

"That's it Gabi, I swear!" Maria was now sobbing hysterically, tears were streaming onto her top.

"No Mum! You don't understand! I love Troy! And he's stuck in prison for a crime he didn't commit!" Gabriella stood up, and she had begun to shake from the anger.

"I know, but-"

"HE WAS FRAMED, DAMMIT!" Gabriella screamed, throwing the stool across the room, "HE'S INNOCENT AND YET HE'S THE ONE ROTTING AWAY IN PRISON!"

Maria was speechless, she had never seen her daughter like this; so angry... and so hurt. Gabriella's voice dropped to a whisper. What she had to say next Maria could've heard above a crowd.

"I..." she was shaking, but also determined, "I hate you."

Gabriella slowly turned and walked out of the room. Maria sat, frozen. Even if Gabriella had screamed those words, they couldn't have hurt as much as they did then. Hearing the door to her daughter's bedroom close, she spun round to see the glass in the back door had shattered. It was now scattered over the stool that lay on the floor. It was as if the pieces of glass, were pieces of her heart, and her life. Piece by piece, bit by bit, slowly cracked until she fell apart.

* * *

Kyle sat in his car, dabbing a cloth at his forehead. He had a large gash where Gabriella had hit him. He was so angry; at her, and Maria, and most importantly... Harry. He couldn't get to Harry or Gabriella, so he was determined to finish Maria. _"I just need to take one of them, just one is enough." _

Kyle was driving down the road, it was blissfully quiet. After what had happened with Gabriella, Kyle was sure that she would call the police, so he kept driving until he felt he was far enough away from Albuquerque. He needed to go back though; he needed to finish the job. In a few hours, he would be back to the Montez's. He was going to make Maria die like Harry was meant to. _"It would've worked. She was in the car, smothered by flames... but no! You have to love her don't ya, Kyle? Well this time, she'll die. And so will I. We'll die together. The ultimate sacrifice."_

His plan scared him, but he was determined to be with Maria; dead or alive.

* * *

I know that this was a shorter chapter but it's more of a filler until the next one. Hope you enjoyed. 

I know I must sound like a broken record; but please review!


	10. Chapter 8 Part 2

Right I'll be uploading the trailer for my next story after this chapter. Then I'm going to try and update a chapter every other night on this story. If it's been a night or two and I haven't updated, send me a PM, telling me to hurry up, ok?!

Please review like crazy for this story and the new trailer. But please note, I'm not starting the new story until this one is finished.

The ending of this chapter may be a bit confusing, there's a lot of "_Meanwhile..."_s so I hope it makes sense!

* * *

**Locked Up – Chapter 8 – Part 2**

Troy was bouncing a baseball off of the floor as he walked around the cell. He was drawn out of his trance when he heard a noise. "Psst. Over here."

Troy looked up to see Harry staring through the bars of the cell opposite his. "Listen Troy-"

"Save it, Harry. I know that I told Gabriella, but to be honest I really don't care about how long I'm in prison for."

"I don't care about that anymore. From what I heard Gabriella's only bothered about her mum keeping it from her anyway. I have something more important to tell you."

"Shoot." Harry had gotten his interest.

"It's about Joe. Apparently some of the other guys aren't too happy about him taking you in. They've done something to get back at him."

"Why should I trust you? You threatened me."

"I know, and I'm sorry, but you've gotta listen to me Troy. Joe is in trouble."

"How bad?" Troy looked back at his squeaky-voiced cellmate who was having his afternoon nap.

Just as Harry was about to talk, a guard came into the block. "West, Harry?"

"He's over there." A prisoner in a different cell chimed in.

The gate to Harry's cell unlocked and a guard took him by the arm. "West, it's time for your medical check-up. Come with me."

As Harry was being pulled away Troy asked again, "How bad?"

Watching the prisoner being dragged away, Troy just about heard him, "Two words; death row."

As the main gate slammed shut, Troy dropped the ball. Joe was on death row, and there was no way of getting him out.

* * *

"What did you do that for? I was having an important conversation with the boy." 

"Whatever West, what is it you need me for this time?" The guard looked anxious in case he was caught. One thing was for sure, Harry wasn't going for his medical check-up anytime soon.

"Did you ask about Joe?"

"Yup. Look Harry-boy, I'm sorry. I tried, I really did. But whoever those prisoners spoke to, they must have a lot of power."

"So you can't save him?"

"No chance, he's as good as dead."

Harry took a deep breath as he thought about what the guard had told him. "Well I guess we can't do anything, but I need another favour."

"Ok, but last one, there's only so many times I can help you before people start asking. You've had so many 'check-ups' this month that no one wants to be in a room with you no more."

"Right, I need you to get rid of some evidence."

"By evidence you mean person, don't ya?"

"Yeah, pretty much. He's causing some trouble for my lady and my daughter. He needs to be out of our lives, for good."

The guard nodded thoughtfully and took out a pencil and a piece of paper. "What's the name?"

"Kyle Peterson."

* * *

"So it's definite?" Gabriella clung onto the phone as she spoke. 

"Yup. He's a goner."

"Don't worry, Troy. They can't just kill him, there has to be some kind of proof."

"Nope, apparently this evening, he'll be gone."

"I'm sorry, Troy."

Troy shrugged as he traced a line around her finger on the glass, "It's ok, you couldn't have done anything about it."

A silence fell between the couple, as they sat watching each other. Gabriella suddenly remembered the argument that she had had with her mother that morning. It was the longest Monday she had experienced in a long time, and she was worn out from all the drama. "I found out something this morning."

Troy hinted for Gabriella to continue.

"I spoke to my mother this morning."

"And?"

"You know how you told me you were in prison for arson, but you couldn't remember doing it?"

"Yeah, but I'm innocent. What about it?"

"Well you can't remember doing it, because you didn't do it."

"What?"

"You were framed, Troy. It was Kyle who was trying to get back at Harry. He knocked you out and framed you."

Troy slumped back in his seat. "So I really am innocent?"

"So you've been insisting that you were innocent all along when even you didn't know for sure?!"

Gabriella giggled, but the situation quickly silenced her happiness. "He framed me. I don't even know who he is! Why me?"

"You were just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"Yeah, tell me about it."

The two young adults sat looking at one another. They had been through so much together. Yet the only contact they had was talking through a phone, in a prison booth.

"What do I do now?" Troy looked desperately into Gabriella's eyes; he needed an answer.

"Plead guilty."

"WHAT?" Troy shouted. He lowered his voice when he saw that he had caught the attention of his cellmates. "So you come here, tell me I'm definately innocent, and then tell me to plead guilty!"

Gabriella's strong facade cracked, her expression turned into one of desperation, "Please Troy, if you plead guilty you'll get a shorter sentence, then we can be together!"

Troy shook his head in disbelief, "But I'm innocent! I can't let them break me!"

"Please Troy." Gabriella pleaded with her eyes.

Troy appeared to be deep in thought before replying, "On one condition." Gabriella sat up at the thought of Troy being free. "I'll do anything."

"You have to be there when I get let out."

"Of course!" Gabriella was surprised at his request. But she didn't realise the trouble that lay ahead.

"You promise?"

"I promise."

* * *

It was Monday evening, and Gabriella was still at the prison. Maria stood in the kitchen, looking out of the window. For some reason, she just wasn't herself. Ever since Gabriella had said those words. Those three words. 

The house felt empty without Gabriella's presence. Maria hated it, _"Almost as much as she hates me."_ Maria thought to herself. Stirring her cup of hot chocolate, she tapped the spoon on the edge of the cup. The sound rang out and echoed through the room.

_Meanwhile..._

Kyle looked up at the Montez' house. _"Just the way I would've liked it. But no, she doesn't love you, does she Kyle?"_ Anger boiled inside of him, he flinched as he saw Maria through the lounge window. She was sitting on the couch, sipping at her drink. He looked down at the small bunch of flowers he had just bought from the shop down the road. He had only left his car for a few moments, but Kyle knew that it would be ok. Looking into the car, he could see the petrol can and matches were still there. He had become increasingly paranoid. He sensed someone was watching him.

Kyle reached into the back of his car and picked up the matches. Sliding them into his pocket, he picked up the petrol can. It felt unusually light. Slowly unscrewing the cap, Kyle muttered under his breath when he saw that the can had been emptied. Something definitely wasn't right. Reaching into the glove compartment, he took out a gun and a few bullets. _"If I can't burn the house down..."_ Clicking the swing out cylinder into place, Kyle made his way up the driveway...

_Meanwhile..._

"Then he hit the ball straight into the stands-"

Joe was in the middle of telling Troy about a baseball game he went to, when the cell door rolled open. An officer stood in the doorway, holding up a piece of paper. Troy's heart leapt into his throat, he knew exactly what it said. "It's time to go."

"What's he talking about, Troy?"

Troy hung his head, "You're on death row."

"What? Why didn't you tell me?!"

"I just wanted you to have fun in the last moments of your life."

Joe nodded, "I understand. Thanks Troy."

The officer tapped his foot impatiently, "I hate to break up this lovely moment, but you're gonna have to come along."

Joe stood up and walked out of his cell. "You too." The officer motioned to Troy.

"What?" Troy was sure that his heart had stopped beating. "Why?"

"We need a witness. This guy has no family, you'll have to do."

Troy shook his head, there was no way he was going to do this. "Come on, Troy."

He was surprised to see that Joe wasn't scared or nervous. He looked as though... he had been expecting it. As the guard walked ahead, Troy and Joe followed him, as they spoke under their breath.

"You knew didn't you?"

"I guessed something was going to happen. Are you gonna be ok without me, Troy?"

"What do you mean? You're about to be killed for a crime you didn't commit and all you care about is me!"

"I don't care about me anymore. I have nothing left to live for. Even if I do get out of here alive, what does it say on my record? 'Done time for murder.' That's what. I'm fine with it, really. I'm ready."

"Are you sure?"

"Sure as anything."

Troy looked up at the 'Crusher' with a newfound admiration. He had saved Troy from a certain death in prison, but now Joe was the one who was going to be killed.

_Meanwhile..._

Kyle made his way around the house, careful not to be seen by anyone. Looking up, he fumbled for the lock on the back door. It was dark by now, but the garden was not lit by streetlights. Ramming the weak point of the lock with the butt of the gun, the door swung open. _"Easy."_ Kyle smirked to himself.

Aiming the gun in front of him, Kyle crept through the kitchen. He saw the pills on the counter and whispered to himself, "I'm so sorry Maria, for everything, for all the pain I've put you through. It'll all be over tonight. I promise." He threw the flowers onto counter next to the pill bottles.

Turning away from the counter, he padded into the hallway and stood in the doorway of the lounge. Maria had turned the TV on and was sipping loudly at her drink. Kyle knelt on the floor and slowly crawled behind the couch. When he was directly behind Maria, he stood up and aimed the gun at the back of head. "Hello, Maria."

As he reached for the trigger, his vision was blinded by hot liquid stinging his eyes. Wiping away the sweet drink, he turned to hear Maria pounding up the stairs in the hallway behind him. _"Like mother, like daughter."_ Kyle was pleased to see that she had made the same mistake as Gabriella, but Kyle knew what to expect. He refused to be outsmarted by a woman, again.

Making his way up the stairs, he turned to see Maria at the end of the hallway, looking like a rabbit caught in headlights. "You're making this too easy for me, darling."

"Why are you doing this Kyle? What have I ever done to you?"

"I loved you! Didn't that count for something?"

"I'm sorry, but I didn't love you!"

"No you didn't. Harry was the one you loved. It's never me. Never Kyle."

"I'm sorry." Maria had tears pouring down her face and she had shrunk onto the floor. There was no way she could get out of her situation. She was heading for certain death.

"One sorry too late, Maria. You could've loved me. But it's too late now. You have to pay for your mistake."

Kyle lifted the gun up aiming squarely at Maria's forehead. A small click told Maria that all Kyle had to do was pull the trigger, then it would all be over. Kyle's finger lifted over the trigger, and took a grip.

_Meanwhile..._

Troy watched as Joe sat in the chair. One guard was soaking his head with a sponge, whilst another was strapping in his arms and feet. "Everyone stand back."

An officer shouted out orders as another began to read out Joe's personal details, and the crime he was being killed for. Troy could hear snippets of what the man was saying, "Joseph... Murder... Electrocution... Today." But he was too distracted by the single tear that made its way down Joe's face.

Once everything had been read out, the head officer lifted his arm up to the lever on the wall. He pulled down with one swift movement.

_Meanwhile..._

Everything was quiet in the Montez house, and all Maria could see was the barrel of a gun pointing at her. Then the trigger was pulled.

It was at that exact moment, two bodies fell limp. The life had left them, through no intention of its own. No going back. Two people, two lives, two souls... no more.

* * *

I can't believe I'm admitting this, but I think I cried a little writing that chapter! I love the way that this has turned out! Please review! 

Oh and don't forget to check back for the trailer for my next story, it will be posted sometime tonight.

Thankyou for reading. Remember to review!


	11. Chapter 9

Okay so thankyou for all the reviews! Oh and at the end of the last chapter I said I loved the way it had turned out... I meant how I wrote the chapter, not the fact that it ended in 2 people dying. Another thing I've loved is how people have been guessing who got killed. I think someone even suggested Gabriella or Harry! Sorry for not updating, just a little thing called Christmas got in the way. Soooooo... yeh, here is the next chapter!

Important AN: I will be taking down 'A Royal Mess'... More info on that at the end of this chapter.

* * *

**Locked Up – Chapter 9**

Maria could feel the blood trickling down her face. Her back arched before slumping against the wall behind her. The blood was everywhere. Looking up she could see that some had even gone on the ceiling. A thump near her drew her attention, as Kyle's lifeless body collapsed onto the ground. Behind him there was a man, his gloved hand wrapped around the trigger of his gun. Maria could just about see the wisps of smoke rising up from the barrel, and she could see the glint of a police badge he was holding in his hand.

"Maria Montez?"

Maria sat completely motionless; she didn't know what to say. Even if she did, she had no idea how she would actually get the words to escape her mouth.

"I'll take that as a yes. Harry sent me. You're a lucky gal. I almost thought I was too late."

"Who-"

"Who am I? That I can't tell you. If I did, I'd probably have to kill you, and that would defeat the point of what I've just done."

A friendly smile crept onto his face as he lowered his gun. His expression was rather ironic given the act he had just committed.

"I'll call in back up. I'll explain everything; you won't be in any trouble."

Maria sat their, her mouth gaping open in shock. She couldn't register what had just happened. The man began to walk over to her, before he stretched out his hand to help her up. Feeling the leather wrap around her hand made Maria uneasy, but given what the man had just done, she trusted it's motive.

"Come on, let's get you cleaned up."

As he led her through to a bathroom, two men in body suits rushed past them, the man leading her seemed oblivious. Turning around, Maria watched as they began spraying the walls. The blood disappeared almost instantly, but Maria knew that wouldn't be enough to make her forget.

* * *

Troy held his breath as though it would bring Joe back. He felt as though by taking another breath, he would be betraying him.

A sharp slap on his back forced him to inhale. Turning around, Troy saw Max's face looking down at him sympathetically. "You ok?"

"No."

"Fair enough."

Max felt sorry for the young man. The one friend he had in prison, had just been killed in front of him. "Can I get anything for you?"

"Gabriella. I want to see Gabriella."

"I meant a drink or something," Max hesitated before feeling guilty, "But I guess I can do my best."

"Thanks, man."

Troy shuffled away with his head hung low. He couldn't make out what to feel. He felt upset because of what he had just witnessed, but then he thought that he shouldn't be feeling upset over something he couldn't have helped. But when he felt happier, he became guilty that he should be happy given what Joe had just had to go through.

* * *

Gabriella kicked a stone along the pavement. She didn't want to go home. Going home would've meant that she had to face her mother. She knew that her mum couldn't have helped Troy. If she did, she and Gabriella would surely have been killed. Taking a deep breath of the cold air, Gabriella decided to forgive her mother, and the moment that happened, she felt an eerie sense of peace fall over her. Looking up, she could see a large van with the police department's logo emblazoned across the side. Her slow pace sped up to a run as she prayed that her mother was safe.

She burst through the front door and hurried through to the living room where her mother was sitting on the couch. Gabriella knelt in front of the woman and took her face into her hands.

"Mum... Mum, look at me! What's wrong? What happened? Are you ok?"

Maria reached up and took Gabriella's hands into her own. "It's ok now. It's all over." A tired smile grew across her face.

"What do you mean?"

"Kyle was killed."

"What?! When?!"

"This evening."

"You're kidding!," Gabriella suddenly lowered her voice, "Was he here? In this house?"

Maria paused for a moment. She didn't know whether or not telling her the truth would be for the best. _"No, there have been enough lies told."_

"Yes, Gabi. He was here. He came to kill me. But he was shot in the nick of time."

"By who?"

"I don't know. All I know is that Harry sent him."

Gabriella felt a mix of emotions. One thing she knew was that she was eternally grateful to Harry for what he had done for her mother.

"But Gabi, there is one thing I wanted to talk to you about."

"Go ahead."

"It's about Troy."

"What about him?"

"Are you sure it's worth it? I mean he's in prison, and you don't even know if he'll be out any time soon."

"You're one to talk! The man you love is in prison too!"

"I know I know. But are you sure that you really love him?"

Gabriella couldn't reply to that. She had no idea what her mother expected her to say. Maria took the young girl's silence as an opportunity to continue. "You're wasting your life on a man who you barely know! What if he doesn't confess? What will you do then, Gabi?"

"I'll wait."

Before either of them could say anything else, Max ran into the room. Doing a double take as he realised he had found who he was looking for, he skidded to a halt.

"Troy... Troy, he-," Max stopped to catch his breath, knowing he now had their full attention, "Troy wants to see you. Gabriella I mean."

Gabriella turned to her mother. She wanted to go back to Troy, but she didn't want to leave her mother on her own.

Maria gave a sympathetic look of understanding, "Go."

"Thankyou!" Gabriella kissed her mother's forehead before running out of the room. Maria chuckled to herself as her daughter quickly returned. "Max, you coming?"

"You... You want me to come?"

"Nah... I just need your car."

Then Gabriella did something she hadn't done in what felt like forever. She laughed, and she meant it. Max nudged her towards the door and ran to his car. Looking at the chaos behind her, Gabriella knew that as much as she wanted to stay with her mother, Troy needed her.

* * *

Gabriella hurried through the visiting room. She looked behind her to check that Max was still keeping watch at the door. She was forced to turn around as she smacked her shin into a chair. "Ow! Just my luck!"

Troy was tapping on the table, he was growing impatient when he heard a muffled noise down the other end of the room. He smiled to himself as he heard Gabriella pound down the room before dropping herself into her usual seat.

Swiping up the phone, she took a deep breath. "You'd think after everything, I'd learn to keep a look out for rogue chairs!"

She broke out into a smile before settling down, "So what did you need me for?"

"Joe was executed."

Gabriella almost dropped the phone. "He was what?!"

"Some of the other guys didn't like what he had done for me. So they got rid of him."

Gabriella sat back, struggling to take in what she had just been told. "So he's gone?"

Troy grew impatient, "Yes, Gabi! That is what executed means!"

"Okay, no need to snap."

"I'm sorry, it's just I'm a bit overwhelmed by everything."

"I know. I'm sorry too."

"Another thing, look I'm sorry Gabi, but I can't plead guilty."

Gabriella sat up and opened her mouth to retaliate.

"I'm sorry but if I plead, then they'll never know the truth about Kyle. God knows what else I could get done for."

Shaking her head, the young brunette stood up, "You'd think after everything, the least you could do is get out of prison as soon as possible!"

Slamming the phone down, she stormed out of the room and slammed the door behind her. Troy sat there, alone, immediately regretting his decision.

Gabriella threw herself down the stairwell and out the door. The cold air seemed to aggravate her even more. Her anger blinded her from the figure she had just stormed past. The journey home gave her plenty of time to think about the argument she had just had, but she knew that she couldn't stop herself from being angry at Troy.

As she pounded her way into her house, Maria looked up from her book. She knew something bad had happened, but she didn't want to lecture Gabriella on what she felt was inevitable.

The doorbell rang through the house, selfishly afraid of who it could be, Maria called out to her daughter, "Can you get the door, Gabi? I'm a bit tied up here."

Gabriella hurried downstairs and swung the door open. She felt her heart stop beating as two police officers stood before her. "Miss Montez, we have been informed you have been communicating with a prisoner illegally, at night might I add."

Suddenly, the evening's previous events didn't seem to matter anymore.

* * *

The officer's walked around the table, she felt as though they were mocking her with every step they took. They were all waiting for the same person to enter the room. She never dreamt of their first meeting face-to-face being like this. Looking through the glass window, she could see Troy being led towards the room. Her Troy.

He kept his head down. He didn't know what was going on, but he didn't want to look her in the eyes. He was scared of what they might show.

"Would you care to tell him what's going on, Montez?"

Gabriella took a deep breath. Troy still wasn't looking up. "We've been found out Troy, I can't visit you anymore."

Her voice broke as a tear rolled down her cheek. Troy finally looked up, determined to hear her laughing. She had to be joking. She had to be. She was the only person he had left.

"How will you know when I can leave? How will you know where to meet me? You said you'd be there when I got out! You promised, Gabi. YOU PROMISED!"

"I know, I'm sorry."

By now, tears were flowing down her face. A guard pulled her out of her chair and began to lead her out of the room. Turning back, Gabriella looked at Troy. His hair was a mess, his eyes had lost their previous sparkle, his chin was lined with a light stubble. She was all he had left, and it killed her to leave him behind.

"I'll wait." Were the only words she could let out before she was dragged out of the room completely. For a split second, Gabriella swore she saw a spark of hope in his face, but before she could double check, he was out of sight.

* * *

Right, I don't know whether or not that turned out right. Please please keep reviewing! Next chapter is the last chapter, so I need all the reviews I can get!!

About my other story: I wrote the trailer, I liked the idea, but for some reason I just don't know how to write it! For some reason I just don't want to write a romance. I prefer writing more complex stories, with lots of cliffhangers!

I don't know how this works or whether it's allowed, but anyone who wants to nick the idea... be my guest! Just make sure no one else has taken it. Sorry to everyone who said they liked it!


	12. Chapter 10

Wow! I loved all the reviews I got and all the PMs. It seems that quite a few people's sanity depends on this story so I guess I'm just going to _have_ to carry on!

Oh and this chapter is dedicated to Amanda aka "zanessatroyella4evr620". When I read her review, I think I almost passed out! It made my day :D

Also, thanks to everyone who took part in the poll, you've helped me a lot and you'll see what options won in the next few chapters!

Sorry I haven't updated in _ages_ but you have no idea how busy I've been!!! Here goes...

* * *

**Locked Up – Chapter 10**

Gabriella shifted in her seat, the leather creaked beneath her. Sitting in the back of a police car, she watched people and houses go by. Luckily, she had been let off with a caution for sneaking in to see Troy. But that wasn't any consolation for the pain she was feeling.

Rain began to drum against the window, and it wasn't long before her view was blurred entirely. As far as she knew, the whole world had been cut off from her. Even though a stern police officer sat in the front, she felt completely alone.

Troy was everything to her, the reason she carried on. She shook her head as she attempted to figure out for what seemed like the thousandth time how she managed to live without him before.

They say that you don't know how much something means to you until it's gone. Gabriella now understood where that person was coming from.

Looking down at her hands, she began to think of how much her life had changed over the recent weeks. She had become wrapped up in crime and revenge, none of which she had deliberately brought on herself. Her grades at school had been dropping drastically, but she found it slightly difficult to concentrate given that her and her mother were being hunted down by an arsonist.

One girl had been completely left out of the loop. She had to be, it was for her own safety. But now that Kyle was dead, Gabriella knew that she could tell her everything. A tear fell onto her hand. Reaching out an index finger, she smudged it across her palm. Then the police officers voice brought her back to reality.

"This is your street. I'm not authorised to take you through to your house, so I'm trusting that you can make your own way."

"Thankyou." Gabriella timidly replied.

She opened the car door and slid out. For some reason, she felt safer once her feet were firmly on the pavement. The moment she closed the door, the car sped off, leaving her standing at the end of her street.

Looking towards her house, Gabriella could see the flashing lights around it. There was tape marking the boundaries, and a few police officers seemed to be questioning neighbours at their doors. She couldn't bear to throw herself back into that mess. She didn't want it. She certainly didn't deserve it. Her thoughts were brought back to the outsider on the whole situation.

Turning on her heel, Gabriella began to walk away from her street. She had a direction, she had a purpose. She sped up until she was eventually running with all the energy she had. Rain was beginning to soak through her jeans, making them heavy, and her hair started to whip in her face. Before long, she turned up a driveway and knocked on the door. There weren't any cars behind her, and she just prayed that the girl was there.

After a few moments, there was a click behind the door. She could hear a lock turning before the door was slowly opened. A young African-American girl stood in her night clothes, rubbing her eyes.

"Gabi? What are you doing here? It's 11.30?"

"I'm so sorry."

"It's ok, come in, come in. You'll catch a cold if you stay outside. What's going on? You're wet through!"

"I know, Taylor. But something important has been going on recently, and I need to talk to you about it."

"If it's about that prison dude, I get it, ok? I'm cool with it. If he makes you happy then I'm happy for you."

"It's a bit more serious than that..."

"Well why don't you sit down? I'll get you some clothes and I'll make us some hot chocolate. My parents have gone away for the week so you can stay here for as long as you want, ok?"

"Yeah, thanks Tay. Something tells me I might be here for a while."

* * *

Maria Montez sat in her living room. Most of the officers had gone, and only the forensics team were left. She had been repeatedly reassured that she wouldn't face any charges, but she still felt anxious. It was almost midnight and Gabriella still hadn't got back from the prison yet. Seeing a chief officer walk past, she nudged him to get his attention.

"Excuse me, my daughter was visiting somebody at the prison. Surely she would've gotten back by now. Is there anyone I can ring to see if she's still there?"

The man looked slightly impatient, but he hurriedly scribbled a number down on his notepad, then violently tore it out of the book. Thrusting it in the woman's face, he ordered, "Call that number, and ask for Officer Carter. He's head of the Security and Liaison Department. If anyone knows, it'll be him."

Before Maria could thank him, he had already stormed off to bark orders at a member of his team. Maria picked up the phone from beside her, and dialled the number that was scrawled in front of her.

"Hello."

"Hi. This is Maria Montez. I'm calling for an Officer Carter?"

"One moment, I'll put you through."

Again, before Maria could thank him, the officer had gone. _"Policemen. Always in such a hurry."_ She shook her head as she heard the line click.

"Officer Carter, Security and Liaison. Can I help?"

"Yes. My name is Maria Montez, my daughter was visiting a pri-," Maria paused when she realised that Gabriella wouldn't have been within the visiting hours. She knew that Gabriella had been breaking the rules. But she had to cover for her. "An officer. She was visiting an officer. She left a while ago and I was wondering if you perhaps knew where she was?"

"Montez, did you say your name was?"

"Yes, Maria Montez."

"Would your daughter happen to be a Gabriella Montez?"

"Yes, she would." Maria's heartbeat was racing. _"Why does he know her name?"_

"Well, as a matter of fact, your daughter has been visiting a _prisoner_ for quite sometime. In illegal circumstances, might I add."

"Really? I never knew." By now Maria was sure her heart had stopped beating all together.

"She's been let off with a warning, but she's never allowed into the prison grounds again, I'm afraid."

"Is she there now?"

"No, I sent her home with one of our officers just over half an hour ago."

"Well she's not here! Is there any chance that he might have taken her somewhere?"

"Not possible, ma'am. He's sitting next to me as we speak. Hang on a moment- " Maria could hear him talking to the man she presumed to be the officer in question. "Yeah, he says that he wasn't authorised to go into the street, but he dropped her off on the corner."

This time it was Maria's turn to be hasty. "Ok, thankyou, bye."

She slammed the phone down before falling back in her chair. Jumping up, she knew that she had to find Gabriella. But as she got up, her vision suddenly went blurred, before everything went black.

* * *

Troy could barely see his reflection through the stained mirror. He was standing in the common bathroom, staring at himself, or what he thought was himself. He hated it there. He could feel something slimy crawl up between his toes. Jumping back, he saw that he had trodden in a pile of hair gel. As he took another step back, he bumped into another prisoner.

The next thing he knew, the guy had grabbed his arm and twisted it around his back. "You touch me again, pretty boy, and you're dead meat! You hear me?"

Troy felt his grip on the floor loosen as his foot began to slide on the gel. Upon not hearing an answer, the prisoner pushed Troy forward until his face was millimetres away from the mirror. "You hear me?"

Troy still couldn't answer. All he could look at was his face. His hair was a mess, he had a thick stubble lining his chin, and his skin looked tired and dull. Just as the inmate tensed up to push Troy into the mirror, as voice broke out from behind them.

"I'd let go if I were you."

Feeling the guy's grip instantly let go, Troy turned to see Harry staring down at him. Not wanting to cause any trouble for himself, the prisoner had left. "Why did you do that?"

"Now Joe's gone, you need someone to watch your back. You obviously mean a lot to my daughter, so I guess that I'll have to be that person."

"Listen Harry, thanks for everything. But can you at least tell me why you had a problem with me in the first place. You never seemed to like me, what's changed?"

"Well, I guess I didn't want my daughter to get involved with a prisoner. As far as I knew, you were an arsonist. I had no idea whose house you had allegedly burned down, if I knew it had been mine I would've known who it really was."

"I get the whole fire thing, but you didn't exactly treat Gabriella like a daughter. What makes you think you have the right to be protective over her?"

"I know, I know. Gabriella has never seemed to like me. She thinks that Maria spends too much time visiting me. Since finding out from _someone _that I was her father, she's been different. I haven't spoken to her much though. Regardless of how close we are, Troy, I'm still her father. I'm gonna be protective over her. That's what fathers do. Please forgive me."

The two men stood in silence. Troy was contemplating what he should say next, before Harry interrupted him.

"Troy, there's something else that Gabi didn't get the chance to tell you."

"She's had plenty of opportunities; she would've told me everything."

"Well, after you dropped that bombshell about Joe, and refusing to plead, she didn't really have chance."

Troy felt an overwhelming sense of guilt rush through him. He felt so stupid for not doing what she'd asked. She was right. After everything, pleading guilty was the least Troy could've done.

"What is it then?"

"Kyle's dead."

"You're kidding."

"Nope. He went to get Maria, but I made sure he was taken care of before he had the chance."

"You saved Maria?"

"Yup."

"He would've hurt Gabi, wouldn't he?"

"Eventually."

"I...I can't even begin to tell you how grateful I am."

Troy seemed genuinely speechless. Harry had saved Maria, and in turn saved Gabriella. He owed him everything. Harry had ended the vicious cycle which the Montez's were stuck in.

"Don't mention it. Let's just put everything behind us, I'll watch your back until you can get out of this place. You're a good kid, I'm sorry I caused you so much hassle."

"It's ok, man."

Troy couldn't say much else. He watched Harry weave his way through the people and out of the washroom. There was only problem he had on his mind now. And that was Gabriella.

* * *

"Is that everything?" Taylor was completely shocked by everything she had just been told.

"Yeah, pretty much."

Gabriella anxiously waited a reply. The girl that sat in front of her was her best friend. She needed to know that everything was ok.

"So now you know who your father is?"

A smile broke out on the young girl's faces. Before long they both had tears streaming down their faces and were locked in a bear hug. Pulling back, Gabriella wiped her eyes.

"I should really be going, my mom must be worrying about me."

Taylor nodded, and led her to the door. Before one last hug, she spoke again, "Thanks for telling me, Gabi. If you ever need me again, I'll be here for you."

"Thanks, Tay."

Gabriella made her way down the drive, hearing the door close, she let a smile make its way across her face. She felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Before long, she found herself walking through her front door.

"Mom?"

The forensics team had long gone, but the house didn't show any sign of her mother. Slowly walking in the living room, Gabriella continued to call out. "Mom, where are you?"

Gabriella almost screamed when she saw a figure sitting in the armchair on the other side of the room. The man was fast asleep, and he had a hat resting over his face. Looking down, Gabriella saw her mother lying on the sofa, covered in a blanket. Kneeling down so her face was level with her mother's, Gabriella whispered, "Mom, are you awake? Can you hear me?"

Stirring from her sleep, Maria quickly sat up and grabbed Gabriella's shoulders. "Don't you ever do that to me ever again, Gabi! Do you hear me?! I was worried sick about you!"

Gabriella was terrified, she felt so guilty that she had made her worry so much. Before she could answer, Maria had embraced her and was sobbing into Gabriella's hair. "I'm sorry. I was just so scared about you. I rung up the police, and they said they had already dropped you off, and you hadn't come back, and-"

"Mum! Seriously, I'm fine. I'm sorry."

Without warning, the man leapt up from his chair, drawing his gun. "WHO GOES THERE?!"

Seeing Gabriella, the man put his gun back into his holster. "So you're the daughter?"

"Yes I am. Would you mind telling me what you're doing in our house."

"Gladly, your little escapade made your mother pass out."

Looking at her mother for reassurance, Gabriella's eyes widened, "You're kidding me?"

"Nope, she put down the phone down and shot up, then she just collapsed. I volunteered to stay on guard just in case."

"You were fast asleep..." Gabriella held in a giggle.

"No I wasn't!"

Maria quickly joined in. "Yes, you were! I could hear you snoring!"

Taking the teasing to heart, the man quickly defended himself, "I'll have you know," Gabriella let out a small laugh at him as he hitched up his trousers and raised his voice, "that I am one of the most diligent officers on my team! I would gladly have taken a bullet for your mother's safety, a safety which need not have been protected, had her _daughter_ been by her side!"

The officer stood his ground, waiting for a response from the pair. Gabriella couldn't help herself and burst out laughing. Maria had also lost control of her amusement, but half-heartedly replied between giggles, "You... must be... so proud!"

With that, the officer stormed out of the room, before sheepishly returning to retrieve his forgotten hat. Once he was satisfied that his hat was in place, he repeated his dramatic exit, followed by the slamming of the front door.

Once the women had calmed down, Maria calmly began to speak. "So where were you?"

"I was at Taylor's house. I needed a break from all of this. I needed to talk to someone who didn't know everything."

"It's ok, you don't need to justify yourself to me. It would've been nice if you'd told me where you were, but your home and safe now."

"Ok, I'm sorry." Gabriella got up at began to make her way out of her room, but Maria grabbed her hand.

"Gabi, I know that you love him, but are you sure Troy is the one for you?"

Gabriella's smile dropped off of her face, she pulled her hand out of her mother's grip and started to walk away. Maria stood up, determined to talk to her daughter.

"What are you going to do if he doesn't get out?"

Gabriella began to make her way upstairs, Maria hurrying after her, stopping at the bottom of the stairs.

"What happens once he's free, can you really stay together? I know you said you'd wait..." Gabriella turned the corner towards her room, but Maria continued, "WHAT IF HE DOESN'T WANT TO BE WITH YOU?"

Her question was replied by the slamming of a bedroom door. Maria knew she was being harsh on her daughter, but she wanted her to be sure that Troy was the one for her. Maria had already made the mistake of loving the wrong man, with dangerous consequences.

* * *

The following morning, Gabriella walked downstairs to find a note on the kitchen counter.

"_Been called to work. There's an emergency at the office. Breakfast on the side. Have a good day at school! Mum xxx"_

Gabriella screwed up the letter and threw it in the bin. She didn't feel like going to school today. She was exhausted from the night before, and was not in the mood for having to talk to people. As she pressed the buttons on the microwave, Gabriella thought about what her mother had said the night before. She knew that she was only looking out for her, but Troy was the one thing that Gabriella was sure of. She knew that he was the one for her, except she wasn't sure whether or not she was the one for him.

The beeping of the microwave caught her attention, and she momentarily forgot about what Maria had said to her. As she set the plate on the counter, she heard the rustle of letters fall through the letterbox. Shoving a piece of pancake into her mouth, she shuffled through to the front door and picked up the handful of envelopes.

One particular letter caught her eye. It had the same logo that had been on the side of the van yesterday. It was addressed to her and her mother, but she ripped it open anyway. Reading the first line, Gabriella almost choked on her food. Positive that she was seeing things, she double checked. But sure enough, she was right the first time.

"_Case 559641: Troy Bolton - Arson & attempted murder – Case called up for retrial."_

* * *

Sorry that this chapter isn't so brilliant! I'm not sure I liked it, but it's only meant to lead to the final chapters. Thankyou all for voting, I'll be taking down the poll now, but if you want to know the results... you're just gonna have to keep reading!!!

Thanks again for reading, and keep those reviews coming!!!


	13. Chapter 11

Sorry sorry sorry sorry! I've been on holiday, had some exams, lost my story plan... trust me the list of excuses is endless! I haven't even thought about my story for so long that now I think I'll actually have to read it all again just to remember what I was on about!

Thanks to everyone who voted and I'll try and get everything in the story... however, I reserve the right to miss a few bits out!

Enjoy!

* * *

**Locked Up – Chapter 11**

Gabriella could've sworn that her heart stopped beating. Her shaking hands gripped onto the letter, purely for the reassurance that it wasn't a dream. She knew how these things worked. A serious trial would only ever get called back up without appeal if they had found substantial evidence against the charge.

The moment she thought this, her mind started buzzing with the possibilities of what the evidence could be. Then she began to wonder whether she would be allowed back into the prison to see him.

She knew that this news was too big not to let her mother in on it, so she picked up the phone and dialled her mobile number. After a tense few moments, a familiar voice rang through, "Maria Montez."

"Mom it's me, I have big news."

"Big enough to call me at work? I'm in a very important meeting right now, if this is about last night can you just save it 'til tonight?"

"No chance. Troy's case is gonna be retrialed."

The eerie silence made Gabriella nervous, then she heard the reply she was dreading. "At least think about what I said last night."

"Mom, when are you going to understand? I love him, and nothing you can say will change that. Just because you were stupid enough to let a psychopath fall in love with you doesn't mean that you should stop me from ever loving anyone."

"How dare you." Gabriella could hear the restrained anger in her voice. "After everything... After Kyle... you honestly think that I'm taking my stupid, and very much regretted, decisions out on you?"

Gabriella felt a pang of guilt then she remembered what her mother had said the night before. "Yeah, I really do. You never seemed to like Troy. You always said that I shouldn't like a guy in prison. Even when you knew he was innocent, you insisted that he would ruin my life! You just don't have the guts to admit that Harry was the one who put him there."

"You know that this is all because of Kyle. This had nothing to do with Harry."

Gabriella scoffed, she never knew that she would choose anyone over her mother, but this was different...

"This has everything to do with him. He got jealous and you paid the consequences."

"He loves me, Gabi." Maria's voice began to falter.

"Yeah well he has a funny way of showing it." She knew that she'd hit a weakness. "So did he plan it or was he just making it up as he went along?"

Gabriella knew that she was crossing the line, she had never spoken to her mother like this before, but it seemed to be her chance to let out her frustration.

"He didn't know what Kyle was capable of..."

"Are you sure? You never know, maybe one day he woke up and thought to himself, "I'm gonna do something different today. Maybe I'll make sure that the love of my life and our daughter spend their lives unknowingly the targets of a jealous pyromaniac". Do you think that's what happened?"

Her sarcastic remark was met by complete silence, until Gabriella heard a click shortly followed by the monotonous dial tone. It had been a long time since Gabriella had ever felt this guilty before. She knew that she had offended her mother in more ways than she thought herself capable of.

Feeling her sudden loss of appetite, she threw her plate into the sink and perched onto one of the bar stools. As she rested her chin on her hand, she watched the food she had so readily discarded. One of the things she often thought about was how so many people in the world had nothing, and yet she was willing to throw so much away without a thought. As the pancake began to slide onto the dirty dishes below, Gabriella came up with an idea.

She knew that there was virtually no evidence that could possibly help Troy. So she assumed it had to be bad news. Pulling her hair up into a bun, she knew what she had to do.

* * *

Troy was pacing up and down his cell. It had only been a few hours since he had been told that he was being retrialed, and it still hadn't sunk in. The cold concrete beneath his feet had made his toes go numb, and the lack of feeling was working its way up to his ankles.

Just as he was beginning to contemplate how long it would take for his entire body to freeze, he heard the deep rumble of a prison guard's voice. He couldn't make out what was being said, but he was sure that he could hear Harry's voice replying.

Troy strained to hear the conversation, and froze to the spot, as if not moving would help him to hear better.

But once he heard the metal door close, he knew that the conversation was no longer his to listen in to.

* * *

Looking around, he could feel himself going light headed. He only understood parts of what the guard had told him, but he had yet to figure out what had been meant.

Despite spending a great deal of his life in prison, Harry still didn't understand all of the technical legal terms. But this he understood perfectly. He knew what was going on. He knew that he was free. He just didn't understand who was able to pull it off.

However, as the guard pulled him around the corner, he saw exactly who it was. She was sitting at a table in one of the interrogation rooms. The door was wide open, and Harry could see that she was the only one in there.

Just as he was about to shout out her name, the door was slammed shut and he received a sharp thump on one of his shoulder blades as a sign to keep walking.

As he went through the system of being checked, then finger printed, then having his photo taken, he began to think. After everything he had put her through, she helped him. She saved him. A gruff voice explained that he was "Free to go" as he was escorted out of the front gate.

As Harry stood in the empty car park, he began to contemplate how on earth he was ever going to repay her.

* * *

Gabriella sat in the cold, empty room. One police officer was standing in the corner, torturing her by loading up the tape recorder as slowly as possible. One satisfied that the recorder could serve it's purpose to the best of it's extent, he turned around and began to take slow, casual steps over to the table.

She inwardly scoffed at his blatant display of bravado, as he leaned forward towards her, resting his palms squarely on the metal table top.

He didn't say anything, he just kept deadly silent and watched her reaction to his attempted intimidation.

However, his plan didn't seem to work. Gabriella was secretly thinking about the events that had taken place earlier that morning.

_Gabriella pounded down the stairs began to wrestle with her shoes just to get them on her feet. Her attempt at multi tasking was failing miserably when she realised that she had one arm in the wrong sleeve of her jacket. As she hopelessly began to search for the remaining sleeve, the front door flung open to reveal a red-faced Maria standing in the doorway._

_Shaking the jacket onto the floor, Gabriella waited for her mother to make the first move._

_Maria continued to stand, breathlessly in silence, until eventually she spoke. "I... have never felt... so unbelievably..."_

_Gabriella braced herself as her mother struggled to come to terms with what she wanted to say._

"_So... guilty. Never. In all my life."_

_The young daughter let go of a breath she never even knew she was holding, as her mother rushed over and scooped her up in an embrace._

_Gabriella was desperately trying to understand why her mother had forgiven her, when she realised that Maria, despite her guilt, was lecturing about Troy again._

"_... and you never know what's happened in prison. You don't know what he's done. He says he was framed..."_

_She swiftly cut her mother off before she could continue. Except this time, she decided that shouting was not the answer._

"_Mum, I love Troy. He is my everything. Because of him, I have risked my life, my health, and possibly my sanity."One tear began to make its way down her tanned cheek. "Because of him my entire life has been turned upside down. But to be honest I think that maybe it has been upside down all along, and he just made it all fall into place. The man you love is in prison. Did it ever occur to you that maybe, just maybe, mine is too?"_

_Maria's reply of silence was taken as a sign to leave. Picking up her jacket, Gabriella made her way out of the front door, her bank card gripped in her hand._

As her attention was brought back to where she was, Gabriella felt as though this was it. This was her. A young girl, destined for a life of hectic meddling, and 15000 poorer. The money that she had spent her whole life saving, was now gone, and she knew that there was now nothing she could do about it.

A few weeks ago, Gabriella knew that she would've dreaded the thought of her life savings being non-existent. But she had always said that she was saving for when she needed it. She knew that it was unlikely that there would be a better time for the money to be spent, than knowing she could get her father out of prison.

However, that issue was now to be forgotten. She had more important things on her mind.

"Why did you do it?"

"Do what?" Gabriella knew what he meant. But she dreaded to think what the consequences of her actions would be. She wanted Troy free, no matter what she had to do.

"Why did you confess to the attempted murder of Harry West?"

* * *

Troy sat in his chair, nervously wringing the hems of his jacket. He felt unusual without his prison uniform, and rather confused in his circumstances. Since hearing Harry being taken from his cell, Troy had himself been dragged from the confines of his own and forced to change into a plain, yet smart, suit.

Troy was broken out of his thoughts when everyone in the courtroom stood up. His heart stopped when he saw why they had all risen. A familiar young girl, also smartly dressed, was led in through the same door that he came from. This only meant one thing. She had come from the prison.

As Troy began to conjure up the many reasons why Gabriella would be at his retrial, he heard one of the worst possibilities echoing through the courtroom.

"Gabriella Montez, confessed to the charges made against Troy Bolton."

Troy began to shake and a lump slowly began to build up in his throat. He watched as the lawyers began to endlessly interrogate her. She seemed to have a whole script made up in her head. She gave a convincing motive, a lack of alibi, everything.

He knew why she was doing this; she wanted to get him free. The jury looked as thought they already thought her guilty, and looking around, Troy saw that nearly everyone in the courtroom seemed to feel the same.

The Judge began to get uneasy as one of lawyers seemed especially passionate at 'proving' Gabriella guilty, and eventually he was taken from the room. However, there was another lawyer that had yet to contribute to the case. He had been standing out of sight, and was waiting to see if anyone was willing to help the young girl that sat before them.

Troy didn't understand. Everything was going too quickly. Everyone was talking too fast. Then before he could stop himself he stood up, "NO!"

The whole courtroom went silent as they waited for another outburst. A few guards desperately tried to restrain him but he kept his ground, "SHE'S DONE NOTHING WRONG. I'M INNOCENT, SHE JUST WANTS ME TO BE LET OUT!"

Bored sighs broke out. No one was listening to him. He was just another inmate trying to recreate a courtroom drama, and they weren't having any of it.

By now, the trial seemed to be strongly against Gabriella. Troy watched as she calmly answered everything the jury, lawyers, or judge could ever need to know.

Gabriella remained completely emotionless. She showed no expression, but Troy knew that inside she was dying. A single tear escaped and splashed onto his suit, but he couldn't contain it anymore. Just when the guards thought they would have to use weapons to calm him down, Troy collapsed.

His entire figure went limp, and the young man was left in a heap on the floor. The only indication of life was the heavy sobs which jerked through his entire frame.

Just as the judge was about to charge Gabriella as 'guilty', a loud noise disturbed the trial. An unknown lawyer clambered over the hoards of attorneys, ignoring their muffled groans at how dirty he was making their suits.

"I have one piece of evidence."

As the man spoke, Gabriella vaguely recognised his voice. It was someone she'd seen, but not really noticed. Someone she'd heard, but not really listened to. Then she cast her thoughts back and recalled where she knew him from.

_Without warning, the man leapt up from his chair, drawing his gun. "WHO GOES THERE?!"_

_Seeing Gabriella, the man put his gun back into his holster. "So you're the daughter?"_

"_Yes I am. Would you mind telling me what you're doing in our house."_

"_Gladly, your little escapade made your mother pass out."_

_Looking at her mother for reassurance, Gabriella's eyes widened, "You're kidding me?"_

"_Nope, she put down the phone down and shot up, then she just collapsed. I volunteered to stay on guard just in case."_

"_You were fast asleep..." Gabriella held in a giggle._

"_No I wasn't!"_

_Maria quickly joined in. "Yes, you were! I could hear you snoring!"_

_Taking the teasing to heart, the man quickly defended himself, "I'll have you know," Gabriella let out a small laugh at him as he hitched up his trousers and raised his voice, "that I am one of the most diligent officers on my team! I would gladly have taken a bullet for your mother's safety, a safety which need not have been protected, had her _daughter_ been by her side!"_

Gabriella was confused. She knew that he was the police officer who had waited with her mother, but she had no idea what he was doing in the courtroom... as a lawyer.

"Your Honour, I have substantial evidence which could prove that both Gabriella Montez and Troy Bolton are innocent of attempted murder."

The judge's look of disbelief was reflected on the jury's, the lawyer's and pretty much everyone else in the room. However, the young couple were both secretly rejoicing at the hope that they could be free.

"When said crime was committed, a blood sample was found near the can of petrol placed near Mr. Bolton. I say 'placed' because I believe he was in fact framed. The blood sample was taken and processed, however, the sample found at the scene of the crime, and the sample given by Mr. Bolton did not match. Therefore being rendered inconclusive. Even though this young man," the lawyers gestured towards Troy, "was found at the scene of the crime, it was never backed up by substantial evidence."

The judge interrupted, "He was found on the street, in front of a burning house, with a petrol can in his hand!"

The lawyer retaliated, "He was unconscious! I know you're all saying that he passed out from the fumes or adrenaline rush, but forensics even showed that he suffered from a blunt trauma to the head! What more evidence do you need to show that there was someone else?!"

Annoyed at his successful argument, the judge simply replied, "Regardless, what is this 'new' evidence."

"Well," he began proudly, "I just so happen to have this."

The man pulled out a small container which held a pad of cotton wool, completely drenched in what seemed to be blood.

"This is a blood sample from the _real_ arsonist. A certain Kyle Peterson. I can confirm that this will match with the sample taken from the scene of the crime and from the body recently found."

Troy and Gabriella's eyes met across the court room and they shared a smile. Whoever this man was, Troy knew that he owed him his life.

The entire courtroom was sat in a state of shock. No one spoke, no one even breathed. This man, this unknown lawyer, had solved a murder case that had been going on for years. The judge wasn't so quick to believe. "How, may I ask, were you capable of retrieving this blood sample."

"I have my ways." Gabriella was taken aback when he winked in her direction. She knew what he had done; he had lied to get the sample. He had lied to gain access to the evidence that they needed.

"In fact, the answer to your problem was right in front of you. Or rather, was shot dead by one of your officers. You just weren't diligent enough to put 2 and 2 together. You played a guessing game which has potentially ruined two innocent people's lives."

Everyone was in awe at the man, and a breath of relief was let out as the hammer slammed down and the judge announced his verdict.

"Troy Bolton, charged of attempted murder and arson – Not guilty."

Gabriella failed to hold in her emotion, she burst into tears. They weren't tears of sadness though, they were tears of incredible joy.

"Gabriella Montez, charged of attempted murder and arson – Not guilty."

The entire courtroom burst into life, and Troy began to desperately run towards a sobbing Gabriella, but she was quickly ushered out of the room. However, he felt complete relief when he noticed that she had been taken out of the main door, which led outside.

* * *

Troy struggled to contain his excitement. He had been taken back to prison before he could be released. Once the paperwork had been signed, he was led out to the main lobby. His belongings were returned and his fingerprints taken again. Once he had signed out, a familiar face took his arm.

He looked down at Max, the prison guard who had helped him so much. "Goodbye, Troy."

The officer held out his hand for Troy to shake, but was taken aback when it was refused. Instead he found himself wrapped in a hug, and he could feel Troy's tears soaking through onto his shoulder. "Thankyou Max. Thankyou so much."

Max could only nod and pat Troy on the back. He took him out into the rain and declared proudly, "Mr Bolton, you're free to go."

Troy turned and walked out into the car park, he laughed out loud as the rain soaked through his matted hair.

Then before he had the chance to take in what was happening, he heard the voice and the words that he had been waiting for since the day he picked up the phone.

"I promised."

* * *

IT'S ALL OVER!

Please please please keep reviewing! It makes me so happy to know that people are reading and enjoying my story. Hope you enjoyed it and stay tuned for an author's note that I'll be posting tomorrow in regards to anymore stories.


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